Benchmark indices fell sharply on Monday morning due to a rising selling force.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the market benchmark VN-Index plunged 47.33 points, or 3.55 per cent, to 1,282.03 points.

The market's breadth fell into negative territory with more than 420 stocks decreasing, of which 79 stocks hit floor prices.

However liquidity increased, of which 377.86 million stocks were traded on the southern market, worth nearly VND10.3 trillion (US$448.4 million).

The fall was due to strong sell-off activities across all stock groups, with the VN30-Index down 43.64 points, or 3.18 per cent, to 1,329.57 points.

PV Gas (GAS) led the downtrend this morning with a loss of 4.28 per cent. It was followed by BIDV (BID), VPBank (VPB), Techcombank (TCB) and Vinhomes (VHM), all down in a range of 2.33-5.3 per cent.

Other big stocks that witnessed poor performance were Vingroup (VIC), Vietinbank (CTG), Vietnam Rubber Group (GVR), Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG) and Becamex (BCM), all losing at least 2.26 per cent.

The HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) slid by 17.49 points, or 5.09 per cent, to 325.97 points. VNS