VN-Index drops to 1,490

The index started off in the red and continued sideways in the afternoon. It closed 8.76 points lower after gaining 4 points last Friday.

Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, fell 8.65 percent to VND23.58 trillion ($1.03 billion).

The VN30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 21 tickers in the red, led by PNJ of jewelry maker Phu Nhuan Jewelry with a 4.5 percent drop.

VJC of budget airline Vietjet closed 3.4 percent lower, while PDR of real estate developer Phat Dat fell 2.9 percent.

Other losing tickers were POW of state-owned PetroVietnam Power, down 2,8 percent, and VIC of biggest private conglomerate Vingroup, down 2.7 percent.

Eight blue chip tickers gained, with HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group closing 2.8 percent higher.

FPT of tech giant FPT Corporation increased by 1.1 percent, and MBB of state-owned lender MB Bank rose 0.9 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of VND793.5 billion, focusing on HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group and CTG of state-owned lender VietinBank.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, rose 0.06 percent while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market lost 0.41 percent.