Stock trading plunges to near three-week low

The index closed 0.45 points lower after losing 5.04 points on Wednesday.

Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) fell by 22.56% to VND13.27 trillion ($563.66 million).

The VN-30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 15 tickers fall.

SAB of brewer Sabeco lost 1.9%, and POW of electricity producer Petrovietnam Power Corporation closed 1.5% lower.

MSN of conglomerate Masan Group and VNM of dairy giant Vinamilk both fell 1.2%.

Eleven blue chips gained, led by GAS of state-owned Petrovietnam Gas and PDR of Phat Dat Real Estate Development, both increased by 2.1%.

Foreign investors were net buyers to the tune of VND397.78 billion, mainly buying HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group and VND of brokerage VNDirect.

The HNX-Index at the Hanoi Stock Exchange, where mid and small caps list, was up 0.27% while the UPCoM-Index at the Unlisted Public Companies Market was down by 0.32%.