Shares slumped on Wednesday as selling pressure hit banking-financial stocks strongly during the trading session.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange lost 0.11 per cent to close at 988.41 points.

Nearly 170 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth VND4.2 trillion (US$181 million).

The index had risen 0.76 per cent to close Tuesday at 989.46 points.

According to Bao Viet Securites Company, the VN-Index is forecast to face volatility and correction pressure at the resistance zone 992- 993 points in the remaining sessions of the week.

However, the market’s short-term uptrend is expected to head towards the strong resistance zone around 1,000 points in the short term with support from foreign investors’ net buying activities.

Foreign investors were the net buyers for the seventh consecutive session on HoSE with almost VND248 billion.

The large-cap VN30-Index was down 0.10 per cent to 887.39 points. Eighteen of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation ended the morning on a negative note.

Banking and securities stocks dropped strongly and put pressure on the general market. Vietcombank (VCB) plunged 2.5 per cent to VND76,900 per share. Bank for Investment and Development (BID) decreased by 2.3 per cent to VND34,450 per share. Vietinbank (CTG) lost by 1.8 per cent to VND21,250 per share. Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corporation (HCM) fell 2.8 per cent to VND22,350 per share.

On the positive side, real estate stocks were darlings of the market, gaining 0.87 per cent, thanks to Vingroup (VIC) (1.8 per cent), Nam Long Investment Corporation (NLG) (1.7 per cent), Ha Do Group (HDG) (0.7 per cent) and Kinh Bac City Group (KBC) (0.7 per cent).

Large-caps like Vinamilk (VNM), Vietjet Air (VJC), Vincom Retail (VRE), Sabeco (SAB), Viet Nam National Petroleum Group (PLX), Masan Group (MSN) and Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) still maintained their rallies, helping narrow the decline of the general market.

According to Bao Viet Securities Company, Q2 financial reports being published soon will continue to cause a wide divergence among sectors.

Bank stocks are expected to recover in several sessions. Large-cap stocks, including Vingroup (VIC), Vietjet Air (VJC), Vincom Retail (VRE), FPT Corporation (FPT) and Novaland (NVL) will continuously dominate the index and influence the market in several sessions, the company said.

Oil and gas stocks are sending positive signals of recovery and increasing in several sessions.

Stock exposure should be maintained at 50-60 per cent of the portfolio. Investors with high stock proportion may consider selling stocks at the 990-995-point zone. Investors should take advantage of market corrections to raise proportion of short-term positions, focusing on blue-chip and large-cap stocks and stocks with positive Q2 business results.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index lost 0.25 per cent to end at 106.44 points on Tuesday.

More than 36 million shares were exchanged on the northern bourse, worth VND480 billion.

The index had lost 0.05 per cent to end at 106.71 points on Tuesday. — VNS