HÀ NỘI — Indices closed the week on a negative note, with the VN-Index experiencing its most significant decline in nearly two months, extending a losing streak that has left investors in a defensive posture.

Following three consecutive days of downturn, which saw the index drop a total of 54 points, investor caution intensified, leading to reduced capital deployment and a preference to observe from the sidelines.

Selling pressures mounted as investors rushed to offload shares. Within moments of trading, the VN-Index fell below the critical 1,700-point threshold. 

The VN-Index on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HoSE) finished at 1,646.89 points, down 52.01 points, or 3.1 per cent. The benchmark even plummeted to as low as 1,646 points, marking its lowest level in three weeks.

The breadth of the southern market was negative, as up to 296 ticker symbols went down and only 40 ticked up. Liquidity, however, soared from the previous session to nearly VNĐ25.7 trillion (US$939 million). 

The VN30 index saw a particularly negative trend, with 29 out of 30 stocks declining, leaving only Becamex (BCM) with a slight gain. Consequently, the VN30-Index fell by 57.26 points, or nearly 3 per cent, ending at 1,867 points.

Similarly, the HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) dropped 5.78 points, or 2.3 per cent, to 250.09 points.

The pressure driving the market's decline primarily stemmed from large-cap stocks, particularly those linked to the Vingroup conglomerate. 

Notably, Vinhomes (VHM) and Vinpearl (VPL) both hit their floor prices, while Vingroup (VIC) also succumbed to the trend with a 1.4 per cent drop.

Over the past four sessions, it has been the Vin stocks that have consistently pushed the VN-Index down, with VIC losing 6 per cent, VHM down 15 per cent, Vincom Retail (VRE) falling by 17 per cent and VPL plummeting 20 per cent, making them the most influential shares on the index.

Additionally, major stocks in the banking and consumer sectors faced aggressive selling, with Techcombank (TCB) down 4.2 per cent, MBBank (MBB) losing 3.4 per cent, Vietcombank (VCB) falling 1.4 per cent, HDBank (HDB) dropping 4.9 per cent and Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG) decreasing by 4.6 per cent.

On a brighter note, a handful of stocks saw impressive gains, including Phu Nhuan Jewellery (PNJ) up 2.1 per cent, Binh Minh Plastics (BMP) rising 3.7 per cent and BCM increasing 0.2 per cent. 

However, these increases were minimal compared to the substantial declines experienced by large-cap stocks.

Foreign investors continued to exert selling pressure, recording a net sell value of over VNĐ570.8 billion on HoSE.  — BIZHUB/VNS