Vietnam index ends down 1.4 in volatile trade

HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam's benchmark VN Index <.VNI> closed down 1.42 percent on Thursday, the third fall this week, dragged by the losses of banks and energy stocks due in part to lower global oil prices. The fall on Thursday, making Vietnam the sole one-day decliner in Southeast Asia, brought the market's combined loss this week to nearly 3 percent. PetroVietnam Gas , the country's third-biggest firm by market value, dropped 3.99 percent following the fall of oil prices on a surprise build in U.S. inventory levels and a firm dollar. Vietcombank , Vietnam's top lender by capitalisation, fell 2.12 percent and top insurer BaoViet Holdings lost 4.37 percent. (Reporting by My Pham; Editing by Ho Binh Minh)