Stocks remain steady after plunge

The index closed 0.44 points lower after gaining 1.62 points on Thursday. It dropped 34.21 points on Wednesday.

Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) fell by 2.36% to VND10.79 trillion ($460.13 million).

The VN-30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 16 tickers dropped.

NVL of property developer Novaland Group went up 5.3% after the company announced that former billionaire Bui Thanh Nhon will return as chairman.

It was followed by distributor Petrolimex and VIB of Vietnam International Commercial Bank, both went up 3%.

SAB of brewer Sabeco gained 2.8% and VCB of state-owned lender Vietcombank increased by 2.6%.

Sixteen blue chips fell.

MWG of electronics retail chain Mobile World dropped 4.2% and TCB of the largest private lender Techcombank lost 3.2%.

Foreign investors were net buyers to the tune of VND530.15 billion, mainly buying STB of Ho Chi Minh City-based lender Sacombank and HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group.

The HNX-Index at the Hanoi Stock Exchange, where mid and small caps list, was down 0.01% while the UPCoM-Index at the Unlisted Public Companies Market was up by 0.88%.