HÀ NỘI — The stock market dropped on Monday, as mounting selling pressure intensified late in the day, causing the VN-Index to decline significantly after a period of fluctuations earlier in the morning.

The VN-Index, which represents the Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HoSE), fell by 27.07 points, or 1.45 per cent, to 1,843.72 points. The decline accelerated notably as the index lost its short-term support level around 1,860 points. 

The southern market breadth heavily tilted towards the negative side, with 264 stocks declining compared to just 73 that gained.

Notably, the market maintained high liquidity, suggesting that the selling pressure was largely proactive rather than simply a lack of demand. The total trading value on HoSE reached nearly VNĐ32.1 trillion (US$1.2 billion), indicating that while capital was not exiting the market, it was shifting towards defensive strategies and risk reduction.

The VN30-Index, tracking the 30 biggest stocks in terms of market capitalisation on HoSE, also dipped 45.48 points, or 2.19 per cent, to 2,032.28 points. In the VN30 basket, up to 24 ticker symbols decreased, while only six increased. 

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index fell by 5.66 points, or 2.24 per cent, to 247 points.

Analysts have noted that high liquidity coupled with significant declines may signal that the market is entering a rebalancing phase, where sellers dominate.

The most significant pressure originated from leading large-cap stocks, with Vingroup (VIC) down 3.33 per cent, Vinhomes (VHM) falling by 2.94 per cent, Vietinbank (CTG) decreasing by 2.05 per cent, Techcombank (TCB) dropping 2.33 per cent, VPBank (VPB) plunging by 2.63 per cent, MBBank (MBB) declining by 3.15 per cent, Hoa Phat Group (HPG) down 1.68 per cent and FPT Corporation (FPT) falling by 2.48 per cent. 

Collectively, these eight stocks accounted for a loss of over 19 points in the VN-Index.

A rare bright spot in the market came from the energy and oil sectors, where funds appeared to take shelter. PV Gas (GAS) surged by 7 per cent, while Petrolimex (PLX) rose by 4.4 per cent.

Stocks like Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical (BSR) and PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS) also remained positive, helping to partially mitigate the overall decrease in the index.

Some large-cap stocks did show resilience, with Vietcombank (VCB) increasing by 1.46 per cent, BIDV (BID) by 3.35 per cent. However, these gains were insufficient to offset the heavy losses from other major stocks.

Meanwhile, foreign investors reversed their positions, purchasing a net value of VNĐ185.32 billion on the two main exchanges. — BIZHUB/VNS