Vinamilk's production line at its plant. The company shares went against the market's general trend, up nearly 3.5 per cent yesterday. — Photo vinamilk.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — Shares plunged on Thursday as selling pressure continued to weigh on market sentiment. 

The market benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) inched down 9.32 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 1,323.58 points. The index rose nearly 1 per cent yesterday afternoon after falling for two straight sessions.

The market's breadth remained negative as 236 stocks fell while 162 stocks climbed. 

The liquidity was also high with more than 723.2 million shares traded, worth over VNĐ25.3 trillion (US$1.1 billion).

The fall was mainly due to losses in pillar stocks, mostly in banking and real estate sectors. 

The VN30-Index, which tracks the 30 biggest stocks in market capitalisation on HoSE, fell 0.45 per cent to 1,451.18 points. Of the VN30 basket, twenty-one stocks declined while only six edged higher. And three stocks ended flat. 

Trần Xuân Bách, senior stock analyst of Bảo Việt Securities Company, said that the index is likely to retreat to the support territory at the 1,285 - 1,300 point-level in the next few sessions.

However, the index can bounce back once it approaches this support zone, he added. 

"In general, the market might turn negative in the short term if the index breaches the support level of 1,285 points," Bách said. 

He also suggested that investors reduce the proportion of stocks in their portfolios to 35 - 45 per cent. 

"We are concerned about the market's trend in the near future. Therefore, the recoveries of the market in the short-term are considered to be the chance to lower their holds in stocks to safer levels," Bách added. 

Top stocks leading the market's trend yesterday were still in real estate and banking sectors. Of which, Vingroup JSC (VIC) posted the biggest loss, down 1.94 per cent, followed by JSC Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV, BID), Vietcombank (VCB), Vinhomes JSC (VHM) and Vietnam Rubber Group (GVR). These stocks fell in a range of 0.2 - 3.41 per cent. 

Many other stocks also recorded big losses, including Vietinbank (CTG), Techcombank (TCB), No Va Land Investment Group Corporation (NVL), Masan Group (MSN) and PetroVietnam Gas JSC (GAS). All lost more than 1 per cent. 

However, some stocks still witnessed gains, helping cap the market's losses. Vinamilk (VNM) rose the most yesterday, up 3.48 per cent. It was followed by Hòa Phát Group (HPG), up 2.58 per cent, and Saigon Beer - Alcohol - Beverage Corporation (SAB), up 1.98 per cent. 

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index were also weighed by losses in large-cap stocks. The index settled 1.75 per cent down to 311.32 points, while the HNX30-Index slid 2.17 per cent to 481.31 points. 

During the trading session, nearly 149.2 million shares were traded on the northern bourse, worth over VNĐ3.6 trillion (US$156.8 million).

Meanwhile, foreign investors were net buyers on the market with a total value of VNĐ209.89 billion (US$9.1 million).

Of which, they net bought a value of VNĐ250.25 billion (US$10.9 million) on HoSE and a value of VNĐ22.62 billion (US$983,226) on UPCOM, while net they sold a value of VNĐ62.98 billion (US$2.7 million) on HNX. — VNS