The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based, saw a fairly balanced session with 219 stocks losing and 236 gaining. Total trading volume fell slightly over the previous session, to VND15.79 trillion ($683.13 million).

Blue chips were the drag on the VN-Index this session, slumping 0.20 percent, with 17 stocks losing and 12 gaining.

Topping losses this session was SBT of agricultural exporter TTC-Sugar, down 6.1 percent.

Private banks were the worst performers, with STB of Sacombank falling 3 percent, EIB of Eximbank 2.4 percent, HDB of HDBank 1.7 percent, VPB of VPBank 1.6 percent, and TCB of Techcombank 1.4 percent.

State-owned banks all lost this session. Of Vietnam’s three biggest lenders by assets, CTG of VietinBank lost 2.1 percent, BID of BIDV 1.4 percent, VCB of Vietcombank 0.5 percent, while MBB of mid-sized Military Bank shed 1.6 percent.

In oil and gas, GAS of energy giant PetroVietnam Gas slumped 2.2 percent, POW of electricity generator PetroVietnam Power 1.4 percent, PLX of gasoline distributor Petrolimex 0.7 percent, while VJC of budget carrier Vietjet Air, whose performance is related to the sector, edged down 0.1 percent.

In the opposite direction, ROS of construction firm FLC Faros continued to top gains with 6.8 percent, its ceiling price. It was followed by KDH of real estate developer Khang Dien House, up 4.6 percent, MSN of food conglomerate Masan Group with 4 percent, and MWG of electronics retailer Khang Dien House with 3.8 percent.

Real estate blue chips were all in the green this session. NVL of Novaland was up 1.3 percent, while both VHM of Vinhomes and TCH of Hoang Huy Group added 0.2 percent.

Other major gainers included PNJ of jewelry retailer Phu Nhuan Jewelry, up 3.6 percent, and VRE of mall operator Vincom Retail with 2.4 percent.

The HNX-Index for the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid- and smaller- caps, and the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market fell by 3.45 percent and 0.23 percent respectively.

Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of VND260 billion on all three bourses, with net selling pressure mostly on stocks outside of the VN30.