211 stocks lost and 124 gained on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), Vietnam’s main bourse on which the VN-Index is based. Total trading volume remained at the same level as the previous session, reaching VND4.22 trillion ($179.85 million), of which 74.41 percent came from order-matched transactions.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, Vietnam’s second main bourse for small and midcap stocks, rose 0.83 percent, and the UPCoM-Index for unlisted public companies slipped 0.1 percent.

Textiles and garments stocks had a particularly bad session with HoSE listed tickers such as TCM of Thanh Cong Textiles and Garments falling 6.3 percent, MSH of Song Hong Garment, 3.43 percent, and GMC of Saigon Garmex, 3.54 percent.

Textiles stocks listed on the Hanoi Stocks Exchange (HNX), Vietnam’s second main bourse for small and medium caps, did no better. MPT of Truong Tien Group fell 8.33 percent, and X20 of Gatexco shed 9.68 percent, both hitting their floor prices.

Altogether, of the ten stocks listed on both exchanges, seven fell and three kept their opening prices. The fall happened after many EU importers announced they would stop taking deliveries of Vietnamese garments as a counter Covid-19 measure.

The EU itself had on Wednesday closed its external borders to almost all non-EU citizens for at least 30 days with exceptions for people transporting goods, diplomats, military personnel, healthcare professionals and researchers.

The VN30-Index for HoSE’s 30 biggest capped stocks this session fell 0.86 percent with 13 tickers losing and 12 gaining.

The basket’s losses were led by Vietnam’s private conglomerate Vingroup and its two subsidiaries, all of which hit their floor prices. VIC of Vingroup and VHM of real estate arm Vinhomes, the two biggest caps on the VN30, plunged 7 percent and 6.9 percent respectively, while VRE of retail arm Vincom Retail shed 6.8 percent.

Other major losers included ROS of real estate developer FLC Faros, which fell 6.9 percent, VCB of state-owned banking giant Vietcombank 6.8 percent, and BVH of insurance giant Bao Viet Group 6.5 percent.

In the red were stocks of three other major state-owned banks. CTG of VietinBank shed 1.5 percent, BID of BIDV, 0.9 percent, and MBB of mid-sized lender Military Bank, 0.6 percent.

Among the gainers were VJC of budget carrier VietJet Air, up 5.1 percent, followed by GAS of state-owned energy firm PetroVietnam Gas, 4.7 percent, and MWG of electronics retailer Mobile World, 2.1 percent.

In contrast to state-owned banks, four out of five private banking stocks gained this session, led by EIB of Eximbank, up 1.9 percent, followed by VPB of VPBank, TCB of Techcombank, and STB of Secombank, gaining 1.2 percent, 0.6 percent and 0.5 percent respectively. 

Foreign investors were net sellers for the 29th consecutive session, to the tune of nearly VND1 trillion ($42.62 million), the biggest single-day net sell so far this year. Selling pressure was focused on HPG of leading steelmaker Hoa Phat Group, which slipped 2.9 percent, and VCB of Vietcombank, down 6.8 percent.