The index stayed in the green most of the day, rising by 13 points in the early afternoon before plunging in the last hour of trading and closing nearly 4 points lower. It lost three points in the last 15 minutes of the session.

Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, fell 2.1 percent to VND22.7 trillion ($983 million). The bourse saw 261 tickers gain and 164 lose.

The VN30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, was dominated by red with REE of industrial appliance maker Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation the biggest loser, down 3.2 percent.

The drop ended its four sessions of gains. This was its biggest loss in a day since Jan. 28.

HDB of HDBank fell 2.6 percent after hitting a new peak Monday. The ticker has gained 26 percent this year.

VRE of retail real estate arm Vincom Retail fell 2.4 percent, its biggest loss in a day so far this month.

TCB of the largest private lender Techcombank fell 2.3 percent, breaking off the upward trend that began at the end of last month.

Among the eight blue chip gainers, SBT of sugar producer Thanh Thanh Cong – Bien Hoa Jsc led with a 5.8 percent rise, followed by BID of state-owned lender BIDV, up 1.7 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of VND294 billion, with strongest pressure on HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group, NVL of real estate developer Novaland Group and VIC of biggest private conglomerate Vingroup.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, fell 0.18 percent while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market gained 0.28 percent.