The market was subdued on Thursday with the VN-Index hitting the lowest in two weeks, while foreign investors set sold for six straight days.

On the southern bourse Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index dropped 5.15 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 1,0647.3 points. This was the lowest close since March 30.

The market's breadth turned into the negative zone, with the number of decreased stocks surpassing increased ones. Specifically, 214 stocks on HoSE finished lower, while 113 stocks inched higher.

Liquidity fell strongly compared to the previous session, as the trading value and volume on the southern market declined by nearly 10 per cent and 7.3 per cent, respectively, to VND11.43 trillion (US$487.8 million) and 673 million shares.

The index's downtrend was mainly driven by losses in large-cap stocks. The VN30-Index, which tracks the 30 biggest stocks on the southern bourse, dipped by 6.02 points, or 0.56 per cent, to close the day at 1,074.67 points.

Leading the bearish trend was property developer Vinhomes (VHM), down 2.13 per cent, followed by Techcombank (TCB), Hoa Phat Group (HPG), Vinamilk (VNM) and Vietnam Rubber Group (GVR). These stocks fell in a range of 1.45-2.45 per cent.

Other pillar stocks witnessing poor performances were Vietnam Airlines (HVN), down nearly 5 per cent, Sabeco (SAB) down 0.88 per cent, and Vincom Retail (VRE) down 1.05 per cent. Especially, Novaland (NVL) plunged 3.65 per cent after soaring for two consecutive sessions.

In contrast, some other stocks still performed well, such as BIDV (BID), up 1.24 per cent, and Duc Giang Chemicals Group JSC (SGC), up 5 per cent.

The HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) also went down on Thursday. It dipped 2.1 points, or 0.99 per cent, to 209.84 points.

Also adding pressure on the market, foreign investors continued withdrawing capital from both main stock exchanges. Of which, they net sold nearly VND300 billion on HoSE and VND2.9 billion on HNX. — VNS