The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based, saw 226 stocks lose and 179 gain despite ending in the green. However, nine of the gainers hit their ceiling prices, compared to five that floored.

Total trading volume fell more than 10 percent over the previous session to VND7.83 trillion ($337.69 million), slightly lower than last month’s average daily trading value of ofVND8-9 trillion per session.

The VN30-Index for the market’s 30 largest capped stocks gained 0.02 percent, with seven stocks in the green, and 13 in the red. Notably, 10 stocks kept their opening prices, a rare occurrence in this basket.

Topping gains was MWG of electronics retailer Mobile World, up 1.9 percent, followed by GAS of energy giant PetroVietnam Gas, up 1.4 percent, and HDB of private lender HDBank, up1.2 percent.

MBB of mid-sized Military Bank was the only state-owned lender to have performed positively, rising 0.8 percent.

Other gainers included VJC of budget carrier Vietjet Air, up 0.4 percent, VIC of private conglomerate Vingroup, up 0.2 percent, and REE of appliances maker Refrigeration Electrical Engineering, up 0.1 percent.

Of Vietnam’s three biggest lenders by assets, BID of BIDV stayed flat, while CTG of VietinBank and VCB of Vietcombank both shed 0.2 percent.

Stocks that kept their opening prices included major names like MSN of food conglomerate Masan Group, VNM of dairy giant Vinamilk, FPT of IT services firm FPT, and two private banks, STB of Sacombank and VPB of VPBank.

Topping losses this session was PNJ of jewelry retailer Phu Nhuan Jewelry, down 1.5 percent, TCH of truck dealer Hoang Huy Group, 1.3 percent, and SSI of top brokerage Saigon Securities Inc., 1.1 percent.

Other major losers included VHM of real estate developer Vinhomes and VRE of mall operator Vincom Retail, subsidiaries of Vingroup, down 1 percent and 0.7 percent respectively; and EIB of Eximbank and TCB of Techcombank, two private lenders, down 0.3 percent and 0.5 percent respectively.

The HNX-Index for the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid- and small-caps, was up 0.32 percent, and the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Companies Market gained 1.36 percent.

Foreign investors continued to be net sellers to the tune of nearly VND600 billion on all three bourses. The most net sold stocks were MSN of Masan Group, and HPG of Hoa Phat Group, both retaining their opening prices.