Workers harvest rubber latex in Quảng Trị Province. Shares in the Vietnam Rubber Group (GVR) led the market's downward trend on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese market opened the new week negatively as the VN-Index decreased sharply, while foreign investors showed signs of bottom fishing.

The VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) finished the day at 1,254.64 points, down 10.14 points, or 0.8 per cent.

On the southern bourse, the breadth was negative as 259 stocks ticked down, while 71 increased. Liquidity hovered above VNĐ21.2 trillion (US$832.2 million), an increase of 14.1 per cent from the previous session.

The VN30-Index, tracking the 30 biggest stocks on HoSE by market capitalisation, also dropped 3.01 points, or 0.23 per cent, down to 1,299.31 points. The number of decliners surpassed that of gainers in the VN30 basket by 15 to 12, with three stocks ending flat.

Large-cap stocks in the manufacturing sectors led the market's downturn with shares in the Vietnam Rubber Group - Joint Stock Company (GVR) posting the biggest fall in market capitalisation, down 5.07 per cent, contributing to a decrease of more than 1.6 points in the VN-Index.

It was followed by Vietnam Airlines JSC (HVN). Shares of the national airline brand hit a low on Monday, dropping 6.88 per cent. Notably, this was this stock's fifth consecutive sharp decline, with four of these sessions hitting the floor price.

Other poorly performing stocks at the start of the week included FPT Corporation (FPT), down 1.51 per cent, Đức Giang Chemicals Group JSC (DGC), down 6.02 per cent and PetroVietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation (GAS), down 1.03 per cent.

The index pared losses thanks to weaker bottom fishing demand. Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TCB) was the biggest gainer, with an increase of 1.07 per cent, contributing more than 0.4 points to the VN-Index.

It was followed by Masan Group Corporation (MSN), which was up 1.69 per cent, and Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (CTG), which increased by 0.75 per cent.

According to analysts at Viet Dragon Securities, the market is expected to continue fluctuating around this level to gauge supply and demand at the start of the new trading week. However, caution and market risks should still be noted due to recent unstable developments. Therefore, investors should slow down and observe supply-demand movements to reassess market conditions while also considering taking profits or restructuring their portfolios during market recoveries to minimise risks.

The Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) index also finished lower on Monday, declining by 0.89 per cent to 238.38 points.

During the session, more than VNĐ1.7 trillion worth of shares were traded, equivalent to a trading volume of more than 87 million shares on the northern market.

Foreign investors bought a net of over VNĐ436 billion on HoSE. — VNS