A customer talks to a Bao Viet Holdings teller at its transaction office. Shares of the company tumbled more than 3 per cent on Thursday, weighing on the market's sentiment. — Photo baoviet.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — The market closed lower on Thursday, weighed by rising selling pressure across all sectors, while foreign investors continued to offload a significant amount on the main exchange.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index fell 8.87 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 1,782.56 points. It lost nearly 22 points on Wednesday, breaching the critical 1,800-point threshold.

The southern market saw 254 stocks declining while 84 ticker symbols inched higher. Liquidity also dropped from the previous session to over VNĐ26.1 trillion (US$1 billion).

The VN30-Index dipped 18.92 points, or 0.95 per cent, to 1,969.27 points. In the VN30 basket, up to 23 stocks decreased, while only six gained points and one ended unchanged.

The financial sector, including banking, securities and insurance, was notably affected, with several stocks experiencing declines exceeding 2 per cent.

Among the hardest hit were Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), down 3.05 per cent; Vietcombank (VCB), shedding 3.39 per cent; MBBank (MBB), which fell 2.7 per cent; BIDV (BID), down 2.83 per cent; Eximbank (EIB), decreasing 2.1 per cent; and Ho Chi Minh City Securities (HCM), which slipped 2.32 per cent.

Other major sectors also faced substantial declines, with Vinh Hoan Corporation (VHC) and Petrovietnam General Services Corporation (PET) hitting their lower limits, while Digiworld (DGW) decreased 4.46 per cent, Vinamilk (VNM) fell 4.03 per cent and Masan Group (MSN) dropped 3.99 per cent.

The energy sector also suffered, with PV OIL (OIL) falling 5.06 per cent and Petrolimex (PLX) decreasing 4.33 per cent.

The real estate sector displayed mixed performance. While residential real estate stocks rallied, with Vingroup (VIC) and Vinhomes (VHM) reaching their ceiling prices and Vincom Retail (VRE) and Van Phu Real Estate Development (VPI) climbing 1.95 per cent and 2.54 per cent respectively, industrial real estate stocks were not as fortunate.

IDICO (IDC) declined 4.38 per cent, Kinh Bac City (KBC) dropped 3.1 per cent, Becamex (BCM) fell 4.17 per cent and Sai Gon VRG Investment Corporation (SIP) decreased 2.34 per cent.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index closed at 263.04 points, down 2.91 points or 1.09 per cent.

Total liquidity on the exchange amounted to over 98.58 million shares traded, corresponding to a transaction value exceeding VNĐ2.21 trillion. The market displayed negative breadth, with only 49 stocks gaining and 100 declining.

Moreover, foreign investors continued their selling trend, marking the fifth consecutive session of net selling on the HoSE. In particular, they net sold over VNĐ1.25 billion worth of shares. — BIZHUB/VNS