Vingroup posted the biggest loss on Wednesday, down nearly 3 per cent to VND111,100. — Photo vingroup.net

Viet Nam's stock market finished mixed on Wednesday as the benchmark suddenly fell while the HNX-Index increased 0.23 per cent.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index decreased 0.52 per cent to 1,186.05 points after rising nearly 0.3 per cent in the morning session. The index hit 1,200 points in the early session. The decline ended the rally which started since last week.

Many brokerage houses forecast the VN-Index will soon surpass its historic peak of 1,204 points in the next few sessions due to strong cash flow from domestic investors.

The benchmark closed the day with only six out of nineteen sectors rising. Of which 254 stocks decreased while 193 stocks advanced, and another 37 ended flat.

"Cash flows reduced. The market breadth ran into a negative status while the liquidity was higher from the previous session," said BIDV Securities Co.

More than 819 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth nearly VND18.2 trillion (US$792 million).

The VN30-Index reversed course from the morning session, down 0.38 per cent to end the day at 1,164.57 points. Many large-caps, especially property developers, plunged on Wednesday.

Vingroup Joint Stock Company (VIC) posted the biggest loss, down nearly 3 per cent to VND111,100. Vinhomes JSC (VHM) also witnessed a bad trading day with a decrease of 2.42 per cent to VND100,900. Another property developer reporting a big loss was Vincom Retail Joint Stock Company (VRE), falling 1.36 per cent to VND36,200.

Other sectors like energy, airlines, retail, utilities and logistics also posted negative performance.

However, the market still recorded outstanding performers like Vietnam Rubber Group - Joint Stock Company (GVR) hitting the intra-day limit. The stock ended Wednesday with an increase of 6.88 per cent to VND31,850. GVR is the hot name in Viet Nam's stock market, often posting strong increases. The stock rose up to 52 per cent last month.

Banking stocks also had good performance, such as VPBank (VPB) up 2.29 per cent, Techcombank (TCB) up 0.14 per cent, and Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB) up 0.73 per cent.

Meanwhile, on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index climbed to 357.06 points, up 0.45 per cent. Domestic investors poured VND3.1 trillion into the northern market.

Foreign investors were net sellers on the two exchanges, unloading shares worth a net sell value of VND336.55 billion. — VNS