VN-Index slips with last-minute sell-off

The index started off in the green but gradually declined throughout the day and closed with a 14-point loss.

Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, fell 13.6 percent to VND30.85 trillion ($1.36 billion), a five-session low.

The VN30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 18 tickers in the red, with POW of electricity producer Petrovietnam Power Corporation hitting floor price with a 6.9 percent drop.

The fourth losing session in a row sent the ticker to the lowest in nearly a month.

VRE of retail real estate arm Vincom Retail closed 6.1 percent lower after rising 5.3 percent Wednesday.

GVR of Vietnam Rubber Group fell 4.1 percent to a near eight-week low.

SSI of leading brokerage SSI Securities Corporation lost 3.3 percent, and GAS of state-owned Petrovietnam Gas fell 2.8 percent.

Ten blue chip tickers gained, with BID of state-owned lender BIDV rising 4.4 percent to a new peak.

The ticker has been going up since the end of October, having risen nearly 40 percent since.

CTG of state-owned lender VietinBank followed with a 2.9 percent rise.

Other banking stocks that gained included VCB of state-owned lender Vietcombank, up 2.4 percent, MBB of lender MB, up 1.7 percent, and ACB of Asia Commercial Bank, up 0.8 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of VND120 billion with strongest pressure on VRE and NVL of real estate developer Novaland Group.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, fell 2.7 percent while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market dropped 1.3 percent.