Stocks plunge in week’s last session

The index closed nearly 24 points lower after losing 0.11 points on Thursday.

Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange increased by 33 percent to VND16.96 trillion ($720 million).

The VN-30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 25 tickers drop.

GAS of state-owned Petrovietnam Gas fell by 7 percent in its third losing session in a row.

PNJ of Phu Nhuan Jewelry lost 6.1 percent. POW of electricity producer Petrovietnam Power Corporation dropped 5.7 percent.

Four tickers gained, with TCB of the largest private lender Techcombank rising 1.5 percent and NVL of real estate developer Novaland Group increasing by 0.7 percent.

Foreign investors were net buyers for the fifth straight session to the tune of VND86.18 billion, mainly buying STB of Ho Chi Minh City-based lender Sacombank and HDB of HDBank.

The HNX-Index at the Hanoi Stock Exchange, where mid and small caps list, was down 2.01 percent while the UPCoM-Index at the Unlisted Public Companies Market fell by 1.23 percent.