In the final trading session of 2025, the VN-Index rose 17.59 points to close at 1,784.49.

The index had climbed nearly 21 points during the session before late selling pressure in real estate stocks pared gains.

Stocks of Vingroup-related companies continued to drive the market. Vingroup (VIC) surged 4.05%, contributing 11.44 points to the VN-Index’s advance, while Vinhomes (VHM) added 6.07 points. Vinpearl (VPL) and Vincom Retail (VRE) contributed 1.28 points and 0.43 points, respectively.

By contrast, real estate stocks weakened late in the session, with VIC and VHM trimming earlier gains, while Nam Long (NLG) and Novaland (NVL) unexpectedly reversed course to end lower.

Banking and securities stocks were mixed, with decliners outnumbering gainers.

Transaction value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange reached VND22.35 trillion ($849.9 million), up 8% from the previous session but still relatively subdued for December.

Foreign investors were net buyers of VN694 billion ($26.39 million) across all three exchanges, net buying stocks such as STB, VPL, MWG, MBB, and CTG, while net selling HDB, LPB, VPX, VIX, and VCG.

Overall, foreign trading sentiment improved toward the end of the year, with net buying sessions becoming more frequent in December.

A year of sharp swings

For the full year, Vietnam’s stock market posted a strong rally despite sharp swings. The VN-Index briefly plunged to around 1,094 points following a tariff-related shock before staging a powerful recovery, repeatedly setting new record highs.

The index ended 2025 up 517.71 points. Vingroup alone contributed 280.6 points to the annual gain, while Vinhomes added 91 points. Other large-cap stocks such as VPB (VPBank), TCB (Techcombank), GEE (GELEX Electric), CTG (VietinBank), and VJC (Vietjet) each contributed between 11 and 23 points.

On the downside, stocks including FPT (FPT Corp.), VCB (Vietcombank), DGC (Duc Giang Chemical), VCK (VPS Securities), and VPX (VPBankS) weighed on the index during the year.

Large caps lead early-year gains

According to data compiled by Maybank Investment Bank, historical trends from 2012 to 2025 show that Vietnam’s stock market typically posts positive returns in January, with average gains of about 4.4%, easing to 2.6% in February and 1.4% in March. Performance tends to diverge significantly across market capitalization groups.

Large-cap stocks usually move in tandem with the broader index, rising more than 8% in the first two months of the year before losing momentum and trading sideways in March.

Mid-cap stocks tend to post modest gains of around 2% in January, then accelerate from February and approach the broader market’s performance by the end of March.

Small-cap stocks often trade sideways in January before rallying strongly in the following two months. While their price patterns resemble those of mid-caps, they typically show larger swings, reflecting higher risk and speculative activity.