Vietnam’s VN-Index drops over 36 points as large-cap sell-off deepens

The VN-Index closed down 36.55 points, or 2.07 percent, at 1,729.08, bringing its weekly loss to nearly 40 points, or 2.21 percent, and ending a two-week recovery streak.

The VN30-Index, which tracks the 30 largest listed companies on the southern bourse, lost 1.70 percent to 1,876.81.

Liquidity increased despite the market downturn, with total trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) reaching nearly VND19.4 trillion (US$739 million), up 4 percent from the previous session.

Market breadth remained firmly negative, as 254 stocks on HoSE closed lower, more than four times the number of advancing shares, underscoring broad-based selling pressure across the market.

Vingroup-linked stocks remained the biggest drag on the market.

Vingroup (VIC) fell 3.61 percent, Vinhomes (VHM) plunged 5.01 percent, and Vincom Retail (VRE) lost 2.64 percent. VIC alone wiped 11.26 points off the VN-Index, while VHM shaved a further 3.09 points from the benchmark.

Banking stocks were also broadly lower.

VietinBank (CTG) fell 2.18 percent, Vietcombank (VCB) lost 1.68 percent, BIDV (BID) declined 1.54 percent, LPBank (LPB) dropped 2.6 percent, HDBank (HDB) slipped 0.94 percent, Sacombank (STB) fell 1.09 percent, and MBBank (MBB) edged down 0.74 percent.

Techcombank (TCB) was a rare bright spot, rising 0.95 percent and contributing 0.47 points to the VN-Index.

Brokerage stocks also came under heavy selling pressure, with VIX Securities (VIX) down 3.24 percent, Saigon-Hanoi Securities (SHS) falling 3.16 percent, Tien Phong Securities (ORS) losing 2.13 percent, Ho Chi Minh City Securities (HCM) dropping 1.95 percent, SSI Securities (SSI) declining 2.0 percent, and VNDirect (VND) retreating 1.81 percent.

Vietcap Securities (VCI) bucked the trend, gaining 0.93 percent.

In the property sector, several stocks posted steep losses, including Becamex IDC (BCM), down 5.38 percent, Kinh Bac City Development Holding (KBC), down 2.18 percent, and IDICO Corporation (IDC), down 1.75 percent.

However, some developers defied the broader market trend, with Dat Xanh Group (DXG) climbing 5.99 percent, DIG Corp. (DIG) rising 1.41 percent, Nam Long Group (NLG) adding 1.33 percent, and TCH Investment and Trading (TCH) gaining 1.27 percent.

Materials stocks were also under pressure, with steelmaker Hoa Phat Group (HPG) falling 2.07 percent, rubber producer GVR (GVR) dropping 4.44 percent, and GEL (GEL) losing 1.86 percent.

In the industrial sector, Gelex Group (GEX) declined 2.95 percent, Gelex Electric (GEE) slid 5.59 percent, and budget carrier Vietjet Air (VJC) fell 1.36 percent.

Retail stocks also weakened, with Mobile World Investment (MWG) down 1.63 percent, FPT Digital Retail (FRT) losing 2.72 percent, and Digiworld (DGW) falling 3.59 percent.