Shares reversed to drop on Thursday, pressured by the slump of large-cap stocks that were hit strongly during the last minutes of the session.
On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index lost 0.92 per cent to close at 1,070.91 points. The index had gained 0.22 per cent to close at 1,080.86 points on Wednesday.
Market breadth was neutral with 194 gainers and 209 decliners.
Some 998.7 million shares were traded on the southern exchange, worth VND15.8 trillion (US$575.2 million).
“VN-Index suddenly dropped at the end of the session after a day of struggling in the range of 1,078-1,080. The index ended the session at 1,070.91, down more than 9 points compared to yesterday,” said BIDV Securities Co.
Market breadth tilted to the negative side. Regarding the transactions of foreign investors, today they were net sellers on the two exchanges of HoSE and HNX. In the next trading sessions, VN-Index may continue to experience shaking sessions, 1,060-1,065 will be the next support area if the index continues to decrease in line with the movement of VN30-Index. It is recommended that investors trade cautiously in the coming sessions, it said.
The VN30-Index, which tracks the performance of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation and liquidity on HoSE, dropped 1.01 per cent to reach 1,078.86 points. In the basket, 7 stocks climbed, one stayed flat and 22 slid.
Losers in the VN-30 basket included Novaland (NVL), Vinamilk (VNM), Vingroup (VIC), Vietjet (VJC), FPT Corporation (FPT), Bao Viet Holdings (BVH).
Most banking stocks dropped during the trading session. Those slumping included Vietinbank (CTG), Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), (TPB), Vietcombank (VCB), VPBank (VPB), National Commercial Joint Stock Bank (NVB), Military Bank (MBB), Sacombank (STB), Tien Phong Bank (TPB), Techcombank (TCB) and Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID).
Energy stocks also suffered selling pressure with losers such as Drilling Mud Joint Stock Corporation (PVC), PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corporation (PVD), PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS) and PV OIL (OIL).
On a sector basis, 21 out of 25 sector indices on the stock market lost ground, including wholesale, construction, rubber production, IT and logistics, agriculture, real estate, food and beverage, retail, seafood production, and plastic and chemical production.
The HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) lost 0.54 per cent to close Thursday at 211.43 points.
Over 149 million shares were traded on the northern exchange, worth VND2 trillion. — VNS