The index stayed in the red throughout the day and traded mostly in the 1,230 range. It closed with a 3-point drop.

Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, surged 25 percent to VND18.2 trillion ($791 million), the highest since Jan. 28. The bourse saw 213 tickers gain and 206 lose.

After three net selling sessions, foreign investors turned net buyers to the tune of VND2.3 trillion, the highest so far this year.

VHM of real estate giant Vinhomes was their top purchase. The ticker fell 0.8 percent, its third losing session in a row.

Foreign investors also invested in VRE of retail real estate arm Vincom Retail, which fell 0.3 percent. VRE has dropped more than 7 percent since this year’s peak on Jan. 25.

Their third top purchase was HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group, which rose 0.4 percent to a new all-time peak. The ticker has gained 17 percent this year.

Of the VN30 basket, VCB of state-owned lender Vietcombank led the fall with a 2.5 percent drop.

The ticker was the top contributor to the VN-Index decrease, pulling it down by 2.5 points.

VCB has lost 4.3 percent in the last two sessions.

Other top losers included BID of state-owned lender BIDV, down 1.1 percent, and MSN of conglomerate Masan Group, down 1 percent.

Winning blue-chips were led by FPT of IT giant FPT Corporation, up 3.1 percent to a new all-time peak.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, gained 0.01 percent, while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market fell 0.07 percent.