The index stayed in the red throughout the day, starting with a slip to the 1,150 range in the morning before recovering in early afternoon and closing with a 6.3-point fall. This is the lowest it has recorded since February 17.

Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, fell nearly 3 percent to VND15.13 trillion ($658 million). The bourse saw 187 stocks gain and 266 lose.

Foreign investors have been net sellers for 13 consecutive session to the tune of VND8.2 trillion. On Tuesday, the strongest selling pressures were seen on VNM of dairy giant Vinamilk, POW of electricity distributor PetroVietnam Power Corporation and HSG of steelmaker Hoa Sen Group.

The VN30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks on the HoSE, saw 22 stocks lose.

POW, which was the top blue chip gainer Monday, turned top loser Tuesday with a 3.9 percent drop.

It was followed by PLX of fuel distributor Petrolimex, down 3.1 percent. This is the biggest loss of the ticker since the end of January.

MWG of electronics retail chain Mobile World fell 2.1 percent, its fourth losing session in a row, to reach its lowest point since early February.

The top five blue chip losers were rounded off by CTG of state-owned lender VietinBank and REE of industrial appliance maker Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation (REE), both down 1.8 percent.

CTG has closed in the red for the last four sessions, while REE is at a one-month low.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, gained 0.54 percent, while the UPCoM-Index for stocks on the Unlisted Public Companies Market rose 0.15 percent.