The markets reopened after the holiday on a gloomy note as weak cash flows dented outlook.
The market’s breadth was skewed in favour of bears with decliners outnumbering advancers by 514 to 385.
On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index lost 18.12 points, or 1.33 per cent, to end at 1,348.68 points.
Liquidity was lower than the previous session with about 528 million stocks traded on the southern bourse, equivalent to VND14.5 trillion (US$629 million).
According to analysts, the falls in many large-cap stocks were the driving force behind the market’s stumble.
Notably, the 30 biggest stock trackers VN30-Index lost 27.72 points, or 1.96 per cent, to end at 1,389.59 points.
In the basket, eight stocks climbed, one stayed flat and 21 slid.
“Markets fell immediately once selling force began to build up in the VN30 basket. Additionally, the arrest of the Deputy Director of the Securities Market Supervision Department has brought cash flows in penny stocks to a standstill,” said the analysts.
Among ten stocks leading the market’s downtrend, Techcombank (TCB) was the largest decliner yesterday, losing 4.55 per cent in its market cap. Other stocks dropping included Hoa Phat Group (HPG), Vietcombank (VCB), Masan Group (MSN), VPBank (VPB) and Vietnam Commercial JS Bank (VIB).
Another contributor to the bearish market was banking stocks, which saw lots of red on the screen. Notably, Vietcombank (VCB) lost 1.24 per cent, VPBank (VPB) 2.45 per cent, VietinBank (CTG) 2.7 per cent and Military Bank 3.02 per cent.
Benchmark indices were also dragged down by manufacturing stocks with the largest stocks in the sector slipping by between 2.3 per cent to 3 per cent. Notably, Hoa Phat Group (HPG) did not do well yesterday with its market cap shrinking by 3 per cent. Market-cap shrinkages could also be observed in Vietnam Dairy Products (VNM), Masan Group (MSN) and Vietnam Rubber Group (GVR).
It is worth noting that pessimistic sentiment also drove down realty stock. The trio stocks of the Vin famility, which are Vingroup (VIC), Vinhomes (VHM) and Vincom (VRE), lost from 0.38 per cent to 3.07 per cent, ending the session in red. NovaLand (NVL) followed suit with a drop of 1.83 per cent.
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index lost 4.86 points, or 1.33 per cent, to end at 360.97 points.
Foreign investors withdrew from the market as they net sold VND279.25 billion worth of stocks. Of which, they net sold VND305.32 billion on HoSE and net bought VND26.07 billion on HNX. — VNS