Domestic and foreign liquidity stalls as the market drifts lower

With the deadline set by President Trump approaching, markets remained cautious as world oil prices surged. Major stock markets in Asia were mostly lower, while U.S. and European stock futures were steady. Oil, however, rose sharply: WTI was up 3.1% to near $116 per barrel, and Brent gained 1.6% to about $111.5 per barrel.

Vietnam market: morning session softens

The VN-Index closed the morning session down 0.12% (–2.06 points). The intraday swing was limited to about 1.24% (roughly 24 points). The index rose early, peaking at 10:10 a.m. with a 0.91% gain, before drifting lower into the close, consistent with the VN-Index’s second-half trend.

Market breadth was 178 advancers to 86 decliners. By the close, 123 stocks were up and 150 down, indicating that price action increasingly tilted downward after the morning peak.

Thin liquidity and muted price moves

Trading activity remained weak across both exchanges. Total matched turnover was 6.278 trillion dong (excluding negotiated deals), the lowest in 12 months. Foreign investors also reduced activity, with purchases on HoSE at 520.2 billion dong—levels not seen in 13 months—leaving both domestic and foreign investors effectively “frozen” in trading.

In this low-liquidity setting, price movements were less decisive. On the HoSE, only 52 stocks declined more than 1%, accounting for 17.9% of turnover. On the upside, 47 stocks rose more than 1%, representing 16.1% of total liquidity. Overall, most stocks moved within narrow ranges, concentrated in the morning’s liquidity.

VN30: VIC supports, most moves modest

Despite the weak market tone, VIC rose 1.55% to lead among blue chips and helped offset a near balance among the other six names in the VN30 basket. The VN30 index recorded 9 gainers and 18 decliners, but most changes were small. Outside VIC, LPB rose 4.77% and DGC gained 1.13%. On the downside, VPL fell 3.15%, GVR dropped 2.07%, HDB declined 1.76%, and TCB fell 1.03%.

Overall, the VN30 Index closed the morning up 0.09%, mainly supported by VIC.

HoSE breadth: limited high-turnover names

Across the wider HoSE universe, liquidity stayed thin, with only about 10 stocks posting turnover above 10 billion dong. Among gainers, 47 stocks rose more than 1%, but only a small number of names had turnover above 10 billion dong. Notable increases included VIX up 1.26% on 160.5 billion dong, VSC up 2.34% on 107.3 billion dong, DCM up 1.4% on 66.6 billion dong, DPM up 1.09% on 64.1 billion dong, VCG up 1.67% on 63.1 billion dong, and VTP up 4.62% on 52.2 billion dong.

Declines: mid- and small-cap weakness

On the downside, mid- and small-cap stocks were generally weaker, though liquidity remained sparse. Nineteen stocks traded with turnover of 10 billion dong or more and fell more than 1%. Beyond VN30 components such as TCB, HDB, GVR, and VPL, notable decliners included NVL down 2.06% on 102.1 billion dong, VCK down 1.09% on 87.1 billion dong, GEE down 6.31% on 81.6 billion dong, TCX down 2.45% on 65.7 billion dong, and GEL down 1.29% on 60.2 billion dong.

Foreign flows remain negative

With weak buying power, the market followed a common pattern of declines: while selling pressure was not very strong (only a handful of stocks fell sharply), by mid-session about 50% of VN-Index constituents had traded down 1% or more from their intraday highs, and most early gains were reversed in the second half.

Foreign participation was limited, and although turnover did not reach the trillion-dong level, foreign investors still held a net selling position on HoSE of −463.3 billion dong. The largest net sellers were HDB (−82.2 billion), TCB (−80.2 billion), BID (−58.3 billion), MBB (−53.6 billion), and ACB (−52.6 billion). On the buy side, VIC (+53.1 billion) was the only notable net buyer.