Benchmark indices extended losses, down about 2 per cent to multi-month lows on Wednesday as investors still took a cautious approach toward risky assets.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index fell 22.92 points, or 1.96 per cent, to 1.143.62 points. This was the lowest closing level since February 2021.

After struggling around 1,150 points, the VN-Index eventually broke down another important support zone, leading the market to the long-term bear market.

As many stocks on the southern bourse continued the recent downside, the market breadth remained in negative territory.

However, liquidity improved, of which matching value on HoSE increased by 16.5 per cent over the previous session to over VND10.7 trillion (US$450.6 million), equivalent to a matching volume of 497 million shares.

The 30 biggest stocks tracker VN30-Index also declined 21.8 points, or 1.84 per cent, to 1,160.66 points. In the VN30 basket, 24 stocks slid, while only five climbed and one ended flat.

The market benchmark weakened for a fourth straight session as risk appetite was still weak, causing a strong sell-off force on the market.

The HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) also finished lower on Wednesday, marking its fourth losing session in a row.

Accordingly, the HNX-Index edged down 3.17 points, or 1.24 per cent, to 252.35 points, a low not seen since March 2021.

During the trading day, the matching value on the northern market reached more than VND1.1 trillion, with the matching volume of 61.5 million shares.

Statistics from a financial website vietstock.vn showed that PV Gas dominated the bearish trend on Wednesday, with a decline of 6.73 per cent.

Other big names posting poor performance were Vingroup (VIC), Vinhomes (VHM), Masan Group (MSN), Hoa Phat Group (HPG), Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG), FPT Corporation (FPT), Vietnam Rubber Group (GVR) and Becamex (BCM). These stocks all lost at least 2 per cent.

On the other hand, some stocks moved opposite to the market’s general trend, such as Vietcombank (VCB) up 0.94 per cent, VPBank (VPB) gaining 1.37 per cent, and Vincome Retail (VRE) up 0.75 per cent.

Foreign investors were net sellers on both main exchanges, with a total value of nearly VND30 billion. Of which, they net sold VND4.79 billion on HoSE and VND24.79 billion on HNX. — VNS