Vietnam’s VN-Index starts new week on downbeat note amid selling pressure

The VN-Index of the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) shed 17.1 points, or 1.01 percent, to 1,669.01.

Nearly 723 million shares worth over VND15.463 trillion (US$587 million) changed hands on the southern bourse, with losers outnumbering winners by 475 to 197.

Lender BID weighed most heavily on the main index, cutting 1.94 points.

Mobile phone retailer MWG, steelmaker HPG, lender VPB, brokerage VCK, and lender HDB also contributed to declines.

Gains from lender LPB, housing developer VHM, consumer goods retailer MCH, real estate developer VIC, and jewelry maker PNJ partly offset losses.

The sharpest moves came from securities stocks, with VND and VCI losing more than six percent, while VND, VCI, CTS, FTS, and BSI closed at floor prices.

Multiple bank stocks also ended in the red, with BID down 3.61 percent and HDB, VPB, STB, TCB, MBB, and ACB all declining.

Lender LPB was a rare bright spot, expanding 3.05 percent.

Among real estate stocks, VIC and VHM edged higher, but PDR and CEO hit floor prices, while DIG and KDH dropped more than five percent.

The selling pressure also spread to industrial and infrastructure stocks, with GEX and CII hitting floor prices.

Jewelry maker PNJ, after four consecutive sessions at floor prices, rebounded strongly on Monday, surging 6.99 percent.

More than 10.2 million PNJ shares were transacted on HoSE, down from the 41.3 million exchanged during the July 24 sell-off.

Despite the rebound, PNJ remains 20 percent below last week’s levels and nearly 50 percent lower than early July.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index fell 3.64 points, or 1.33 percent, to 269.35.