HÀ NỘI — Market losses extended on Thursday, weighed down by persistent selling, while liquidity fell below VNĐ20 trillion.

The VN-Index on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HoSE) dropped 20.08 points, or 1.17 per cent, to 1,698.90 points.

This marked the third consecutive session of losses for the index, confirming a bearish technical signal as the 1,700-point threshold was breached once again.

Market breadth heavily favoured sellers, with 192 stocks declining compared with 104 advancing. Total liquidity on the HoSE reached over VNĐ16.2 trillion (US$616.7 million), indicating that while trading volumes were not explosive, heavy selling pressure reflected growing impatience among stockholders.

The market initially saw attempts to stabilise across various sectors in the morning. However, strong selling pressure emerged in the afternoon, particularly targeting large-cap stocks, leading to a sharp decline in the main index.

The VN30-Index fell nearly 22.7 points, or 1.17 per cent, to 1,924.29 points. Within the VN30 group, 26 stocks declined, three rose and one ended unchanged.

Notably, airline stock Vietjet Air (VJC) weighed heavily on the index, plummeting 4.4 per cent to VNĐ188,000 per share.

Vin stocks, which had previously provided support, also reversed course, creating a negative domino effect. Vingroup (VIC) dipped 1.9 per cent, Vinhomes (VHM) tumbled 2.3 per cent and Vincom Retail (VRE) dropped 1.7 per cent.

The banking sector was not spared. VPBank (VPB) fell sharply by 2.9 per cent, Sacombank (STB) lost 1.9 per cent and MBBank (MBB) declined 1.2 per cent. Major players such as Viecombank (VCB), Vietinbank (CTG), Techcombank (TCB) and BIDV (BID) also ended lower, with decreases around 1 per cent.

The sell-off paints a bleak picture of short-term investor sentiment, with total selling pressure exceeding VNĐ10 trillion, more than three times the buying activity of VNĐ3 trillion.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index fell 0.61 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 255.87 points.

Foreign investment flows remained a concern, with net selling continuing for the fifth consecutive session. Investors sold more than VNĐ488.5 billion on HoSE and VNĐ17.1 billion on HNX.

Analysts suggest that the breach of the 1,700-point level for the VN-Index could trigger a defensive mindset among investors, with the next support level expected around 1,680 points. — BIZHUB/VNS