An investor points at stock prices on a laptop at a brokerage in Ho Chi Minh City.
Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran. 

The VN-Index tumbled 0.79 percent to 1,030.91 points Thursday, with strong profit-taking pressure from investors dragging most tickers down. 

In its worst single-session loss of the past three weeks, the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based, saw 326 stocks lose and just 123 gain.

The benchmark index had continued upwards from the previous day, rising 5 points to 1,044 points in the morning session, before plunging by over 11 points in the afternoon session as investors sought to cash in on short-term gains.

Total trading volume jumped by more than 10 percent over the previous session to VND13.35 trillion ($576.69 million), half of it involving the VN30, a basket of the HoSE’s largest capped stocks.

The VN30-Index for this group plunged 0.97 percent, with 22 stocks losing and eight gaining.

Topping losses was PNJ of jewelry retailer Phu Nhuan Jewelry, which slid 6.9 percent, its floor price. It had been revealed earlier this week that 13 key executives of this corporation had been sold a million shares under an Employee Stock Ownership Plan at nearly 75 percent lower than its trading price.

It was followed by SBT of agricultural exporter TTC-Sugar, down 2.9 percent, and TCH of truck dealer Hoang Huy Group, down 2.8 percent.

The worst performers of the session were private banks. STB of Sacombank was down 2.2 percent, HDB of HDBank, 1.8 percent, TCB of Techcombank, 1.7 percent and VPB of VPBank, 1.6 percent. EIB of Eximbank, one of the least volatile tickers on the VN30, added 0.6 percent.

Results were mixed for state-owned banks. Of Vietnam’s three biggest lenders by assets, CTG of VietinBank dropped 1.4 percent, BID of BIDV and VCB of Vietcombank gained 0.3 percent and 0.7 percent respectively, while MBB of mid-sized Military Bank was down 1.6 percent.

Oil and gas stocks were all in the red. GAS of energy giant PetroVietnam Gas fell 2 percent, PLX of gasoline distributor Petrolimex, 1.3 percent, and POW of electricity generator PetroVietnam Power, 0.9 percent.

VIC of private conglomerate Vingroup, HoSE’s biggest cap, fell 1 percent. Its two subsidiaries, VHM of real estate developer Vinhomes and VRE mall operator Vincom Retail, shed 1.6 percent and 0.7 percent respectively.

Other major losing stocks included HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group, down 2.3 percent, and MSN of food conglomerate Masan group, down 1.8 percent.

In the opposite direction, VNM of dairy giant Vinamilk topped gains with 2.1 percent, followed by two real estate developers, NVL of Novaland and KDH of Khang Dien House, with 1.8 percent and 1.4 percent respectively.

Meanwhile, the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), Vietnam’s second main bourse and home to small and mid-caps, saw its index rise 0.35 percent, but the UPCOM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market fell 0.79 percent.

Foreign investors continued to be net buyers to the tune of VND220 billion on all three bourses, with buying pressure mostly on HPG of Hoa Phat Group and VNM of Vinamilk.