After a sharp correction following its peak of 1,700 points at the end of last week, many analysts predicted a further decline for the VN-Index, ending its short-term uptrend.

This prediction materialized as the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE) index traded below its reference point for most of the day. The decline accelerated towards the end of the session, closing at 1,624 points, a drop of more than 42 points. This represents the most significant percentage drop in over a month.

The HOSE was awash in red with 285 declining stocks compared to only 56 gainers. 21 stocks hit the floor price, with VPB being the only one from the large-cap basket.

The banking sector faced the most selling pressure. All stocks in this sector closed lower, with VPB and EIB hitting the floor price. Large-cap stocks like VCB, BID, and CTG experienced more moderate declines, ranging from 1.6% to 3.3%.

Securities stocks initially showed gains in the morning but plummeted in the afternoon. ORS, VIX, and VDS all closed at the floor price. SSI also reversed its gains, falling from nearly 3% to close down 0.7% at 40,200 VND.

A common theme across other sectors was that stocks that had risen rapidly recently faced stronger downward pressure. Oil and gas stocks all fell by more than 2%, with BSR experiencing the largest decline at 6.6%. Seaport stocks also declined across the board, with VSC leading the way, hitting the floor price of 28,850 VND with no buyers.

Several real estate stocks fell by over 5%, including NVL, PDR, CII, NBB, and SCR. However, some stocks in this sector bucked the trend, such as DXG and AGG, while others like VIC, VHM, and VRE remained unchanged.

Steel stocks were a rare bright spot in the downturn. HPG faced selling pressure but managed to close in the green, up 0.3% to 28,900 VND. NKG also rose 1.4% to 18,150 VND.

Despite the index decline, the market showed a positive sign with significantly improved liquidity. 1.9 billion shares were traded on the HOSE, equivalent to 53,170 billion VND. This was the highest trading value in two weeks.

14 stocks on the HOSE reached a trading value of over one trillion VND, primarily in the banking, securities, and real estate sectors. HPG topped the liquidity rankings with 4,138 billion VND, far exceeding others like SSI (2,940 billion VND) and SHB (2,188 billion VND).

While domestic investors sold heavily, foreign investors returned to net buying after several sessions of selling. They purchased over 5,700 billion VND and sold 4,720 billion VND, resulting in a net transaction value of approximately 1,000 billion VND.

HPG was the most actively bought by foreign investors with a net volume of over 10 million shares. MBB, SSI, VPB, and SHB followed with net purchases of around 3 to 7 million shares each.

Phuong Dong