Vietnam's VN-Index Ends 3-Day Winning Streak on Foreign Selling, Sector Slump

Vietnam’s benchmark VN-Index closed lower on Thursday, ending a three-day winning streak as weakening risk appetite and sustained foreign selling pressured the market.

The index for the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) fell 14.95 points, or 0.8%, to finish the session at 1,863.07 points. The benchmark briefly dipped below the 1,860-point threshold during trading. Market breadth was negative, with 177 stocks declining against 119 advancers. Liquidity remained low, with trading value reaching over VNĐ16 trillion (US$621 million).

The VN30-Index, which tracks the 30 largest-cap stocks, also declined, losing 5.53 points to close at 2,004.62 points. Within the VN30 basket, 18 stocks fell, while eight advanced and four closed unchanged.

Sector Pressure

The real estate sector was a significant source of downward pressure, with its sector index falling 1.73%. Several large-cap property developers posted losses, including Vingroup (VIC), Vinhomes (VHM), Vincom Retail (VRE), Novaland (NVL), and Ba Ria - Vung Tau House Development (HDC), which dropped between 1.9% and 2.4%. Vingroup (VIC) was the single largest contributor to the benchmark's decline, erasing nearly nine points from the index alone.

The energy group was the day's biggest decliner, falling 2.58% as global crude oil prices corrected to levels seen before the start of the Iran war. The sell-off hit numerous oil-and-gas stocks, with Petrovietnam Refining and Petrochemical Corporation (BSR) tumbling 3.72%, PetroVietnam Chemical and Services (PVC) down 4.48%, and PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS) falling 2.06%. Petrolimex (PLX) and PV Drilling (PVD) also dropped 1.46% and 1.10%, respectively.

Foreign Outflows and HNX Performance

Adding to the negative sentiment, foreign investors continued their net selling trend, offloading shares worth over VNĐ1 trillion on HoSE and VNĐ24.24 billion on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX).

In contrast to the main board, the HNX-Index on the Hanoi bourse finished higher, gaining 1.2 points to close at 319.44. Trading volume on the northern exchange reached nearly 45 million shares, with a total value of VNĐ615.6 billion.