Market Pulse 04/03: Foreign selling returns to VN30 stocks as VN-Index continues to decline

Vietnam’s stock market extended its retreat on April 3, with the VN-Index closing down 10.78 points (-0.64%) at 1,684.04. The HNX-Index also fell 1.68 points (-0.67%) to 248.68. Market breadth was bearish, with 534 decliners versus 252 advancers. The VN30 ended lower as well, finishing with 22 stocks down, 6 up, and 2 unchanged.

Liquidity eases as selling pressure weighs on large caps

Trading liquidity declined compared with the previous session. On the VN-Index, matched volume exceeded 696 million shares, with turnover of more than 18.8 trillion dong. On the HNX, turnover was over 1.1 trillion dong, on about 62.8 million shares.

In the afternoon, the VN-Index opened higher but reversed as selling pressure intensified. Although buying returned toward the close, losses persisted. The largest negative contributors included HPG, GEE, BID and TCB, together dragging the index by more than 4 points. On the positive side, VIC, VHM, LPB and GAS remained in the green, supporting the index by more than 4.3 points.

Foreign investors return as net sellers

Foreign investors turned net sellers across all three exchanges, with net outflows of about 787.94 billion dong. Selling was concentrated in HPG (143.55 billion dong) and MWG (111.95 billion dong). On HOSE, the top net buyer was HCM at 43.12 billion dong.

Sector performance: energy and real estate lead; communications lag

At the close, most sectors traded in the red. The energy and real estate sectors were the exceptions, both posting gains above 1%. Among notable gainers were BSR (+2.9%), PLX (+0.87%), VIC (+1.86%), VHM (+2.8%), VRE (+1.65%), NVL (+3.96%) and CRV (+3.39%).

By contrast, the communications services sector lagged. Decliners included VGI (-3.1%), FOX (-3.89%), CTR (-1.3%) and VNB (-5.88%).

Morning session: momentum cools, index slips toward reference

During the morning, momentum cooled as selling pressure pushed the VN-Index back toward the reference level. By the end of the morning, the VN-Index rose only 4.52 points (+0.27%) to 1,699.34, while the HNX-Index fell 0.56 points (-0.22%) to 248.96. Breadth favored sellers with 404 decliners and 248 advancers.

Liquidity in the morning was subdued. On HOSE, turnover reached around 295 million shares, worth about 8 trillion dong, down 21.41% versus the previous session. On HNX, turnover was around 32 million shares, worth about 549 billion dong, down 2.07%.

Top stock impacts on the VN-Index

In the top 10 stocks affecting the VN-Index, VIC and VHM were the biggest positive contributors, adding 4.36 and 2.96 points respectively. GEE, MWG and BID were the largest negative contributors, taking away about 1.92 points.

Opening and intraday flow: energy and real estate support early gains

At the open (9:30), the VN-Index hovered around 1,706 after a start-driven rise. Real estate remained a leadership driver, with VHM up 3.82%, VIC up 0.64%, NVL up 0.36% and CEO up 0.6%. Energy stocks also led early gains, including BSR (+4.05%), PVT (+2.09%), PVS (+2.24%) and PLX (+2.1%).

Other large caps such as GAS, VCB and GVR also contributed to lifting the index. However, selling pressure persisted through the session, keeping the market range-bound despite continued strength in energy and real estate names.

Notable HNX detractors

On the HNX, IDC, BAB, NVB, SHS and other names were among the detractors.

Note: The original report referenced additional market charts and stock-by-stock tables showing movers and sector performance.