The index briefly hovered around the reference level in the morning but quickly turned lower. Selling accelerated in the afternoon, pushing the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE) benchmark sharply down.

At the close, the VN-Index fell 27.07 points, or 1.45%, to 1,843.72. Decliners outnumbered gainers on the HoSE, with 264 stocks falling versus 73 rising. Transaction value exceeded VND32 trillion ($1.22 billion), underscoring heavy selling pressure.

It marked the second time in just over a month that the VN-Index has recorded a five-session losing streak. The previous stretch ran from December 9 to December 15, 2025.

Large-cap stocks in the VN30 basket weighed most heavily on the market, with the index down 2.19% as 24 stocks fell and six gained. Shares of Vingroup (VIC) and Vinhomes (VHM) were the biggest drags on the benchmark.

Four stocks dropped more than 4%, including Duc Giang Chemicals (DGC), which hit its daily limit down, VietJet Aviation (VJC) down 6%, Vincom Retail (VRE) down 4.3%, and HDBank (HDB) down 4.2%. Most other decliners fell between 1% and 3%.

By contrast, large-cap energy stocks attracted buying interest. PetroVietnam Gas (GAS) rose the maximum allowed for the day with no sellers, while Petrolimex (PLX) climbed 4.4%. Other oil and gas stocks outside the VN30, such as PVT, PVS and BSR, also traded higher.

State-controlled lenders Vietcombank (VCB) gained 1.5% and BIDV (BID) rose 3.3%, while most other bank stocks ended lower.

Gains in a handful of sectors were not enough to offset broad-based declines. Most industry groups finished sharply lower, with industrial goods and services down 5.18%, travel and leisure down 4.69%, and insurance down 4.5%, among the steepest falls.

Securities stocks also weakened, with VCK, SSI, MBS and VND all retreating, although Vietcap (VCI) bucked the trend, rising 2.5%.

Foreign investors were a rare bright spot, turning net buyers of VND171 billion ($6.53 million), according to VNDirect, snapping a four-session net selling streak. Their buying focused on stocks including BID, VNM, VCI, PLX and GAS.