A steel production line of Hoa Phat Group. Shares of the leading steel producer fell 2.4 per cent on Monday, weighing on the market's sentiment. — Photo hoaphat.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — The stock market saw a negative trading session on Monday as selling pressure intensified across the board, dragging major indices lower

On the Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index fell 27.8 points, 1.5 per cent, to 1,800.54 points. The HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) also dropped 11.86 points, 3.9 per cent, to 291.9 points.

The overall market leaned towards the negative zone as decliners outnumbered gainers. Active profit-taking activities led to a sharp increase in liquidity.

Total trading value across the market reportedly exceeded VNĐ23.7 trillion (US$903 million), up about 36 per cent from the last session.

Within the VN30 large-cap basket, selling pressure was especially evident, with 27 out of 30 stocks declining and only three holding positive territory. The VN30 index, therefore, lost nearly 31 points, or 1.57 per cent, retreating to around 1,939 points.

A number of major ticker symbols recording steep declines were key contributors to VN-Index weakness. These included Vinhomes (VHM), down 2.7 per cent, Vietcombank (VCB) declining 2.6 per cent, Vingroup (VIC) falling 0.7 per cent, Vietinbank (CTG) plunging 3.3 per cent, BIDV (BID) down 2.6 per cent, LPBank (LPB) dipping 3.4 per cent, Hoa Phat Group (HPG) decreasing 2.4 per cent, Vietnam Rubber Group (GVR) down 3.6 per cent, Sacombank (STB) falling 2.3 per cent and Vietjet Aviation (VJC) dropping 2.6 per cent.

Those large-cap stocks alone accounted for more than 16 points of the total VN-Index loss during the session.

The securities sector also faced strong selling, with multiple shares falling sharply: SSI Securities (SSI), VIX Securities (VIX), Saigon-Hanoi Securities (SHS), VNDirect Securities (VND), MB Securities (MBS) and FPT Securities (FTS). These stocks tumbled in a range of 2.3-5.4 per cent.

Foreign investors added to downward pressure with net selling of nearly VNĐ258 billion on HoSE. Sell flows were concentrated in banking and steel names, including CTG, HPG and VPBank (VPB).

With the index potentially continuing lower, Vietcombank Securities (VCBS) recommended investors temporarily reduce the proportion of leverage used to manage risk and limit opening new buy positions.

The securities firm also said traders should wait for the market to form a stable accumulation area together with signals of a bottom, seen through liquidity stabilisation and easing of supply, before considering re-entry. — BIZHUB/VNS