Bank stock fall pulls VN-Index down

The index stayed in the red for most of the day and closed 16 points lower. Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange increased by 9.80 percent to VND11.45 trillion ($490.4 million).

The VN-30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 24 tickers drop, led by TCB of private lender Techcombank, which fell 5.2 percent.

It was followed by two other private players, TPB of TPBank and VPB of VPBank, down 4.1 and 3.8 percent, respectively.

Other lenders, including VCB of Vietcombank, BID of BIDV, and MBB of MBBank, dropped between 1.4 and 3.4 percent.

Only two tickers bucked the trend, with SSI of leading brokerage SSI Securities rising 1.2 percent and PLX of Petrolimex gaining 0.4 percent.

Foreign investors were net buyers to the tune of VND5.7 billion, focusing on VNM of dairy giant Vinamilk, GMD of logistics company Gemadept and PNJ of Phu Nhuan Jewelry.

The HNX-Index at the Hanoi Stock Exchange, where mid and small caps list, was down 0.31 percent while the UPCoM-Index at the Unlisted Public Companies Market was down by 0.82 percent.