The Landmark 81 building, a project of Vingroup, in HCM City. Shares of Vingroup rose 0.7 per cent on Wednesday, supporting the market's recovery. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The stock market endured a volatile session that defied expectations, swinging from a sharp decline to a near-flat close within the same afternoon as investors shifted rapidly from caution to aggressive buying.

The day’s movements were outside forecasts from most securities firms, which had earlier expected narrow trading ranges after the index failed to break the psychological 1,950-point mark in the previous session.

Domestic caution combined with foreign net selling pressure was widely seen as a headwind for the index, which had recently been setting new records.

Instead, the session unfolded in the opposite direction. At the opening, the VN-Index moved around the reference level before entering a prolonged tug-of-war. Selling pressure intensified by late morning, with the index’s decline widening to as much as 30 points.

After the midday break, correction pressure escalated sharply as investors reportedly sold property stocks. The market saw dozens of stocks hit floor levels, pushing the VN-Index down 54 points and breaking below the 1,860-point support threshold. This marked the largest drop in about two months.

The sell-off, however, lasted for less than five minutes. Bargain-hunters stepped in at lower prices, quickly narrowing losses.

Many stocks that had been down 4–5 per cent flipped back into positive territory, with some moving close to their ceiling prices by the end of the day.

The VN-Index, representing the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), ultimately closed at 1,913 points, slightly higher than the reference level.

HoSE trading was also characterised by a divergence between index performance and market breadth, with the VN-Index recovering while declining stocks outnumbered gainers by about three to one. 

Liquidity on the southern bourse remained high at nearly VNĐ31.8 trillion (US$1.2 billion).

Property stocks were the most volatile segment. A basket of floor-hit names during the morning session, including Khang Dien House (KDH), Novaland (NVL), Phat Dat Real Estate Development Corporation (PDR), DIC Group (DIG) and Sai Gon Thuong Tin Real Estate (SCR), later narrowed losses to about 3–5 per cent by the close.

Meanwhile, two Vin stocks provided support both within the real estate sector and across the broader market. Vinhomes (VHM) rose 1.8 per cent and Vingroup (VIC) gained 0.7 per cent, together contributing more than five points to the VN-Index.

In oil and gas, the session began with components trading below reference, with Petrovietnam Refining and Petrochemical Corporation (BSR) and PV Drilling (PVD) reportedly hitting floor levels in the morning. By the afternoon close, however, the entire group had rebounded strongly, with intraday swings widening to around 2–4 per cent.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index gained 1.83 points, or 0.71 per cent, to 261.33 points.

Foreign investors continued to be net sellers on HoSE, offloading VNĐ4.1 billion, while they net bought VNĐ28 billion on HNX. — BIZHUB/VNS