249 stocks lost and 129 gained on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based. Total transaction volume remained above average, but dropped around 5 percent over the previous session to VND6.93 trillion ($300.12 million).

The VN30-Index for the market’s 30 biggest capped stocks edged down 0.34 percent, with 20 stocks losing and 10 gaining.

CTD of construction giant Coteccons led losses this session with 7 percent, its floor price. The stock had slumped upon news that Kusto Group, a Singapore-based major shareholder of Coteccons, had in the morning called an extraordinary general meeting to elect a new Board of Directors and a special audit on the construction firm’s management practices.

CTD was followed by ROS of real estate developer FLC Faros, down 5.9 percent, STB of private Sacombank, down 2.3 percent, and HPG of leading steelmaker Hoa Phat Group, down 2.2 percent.

BID of BIDV, one of Vietnam’s three biggest state-owned lenders by assets, shed 2.2 percent. Of the other two, CTG of VietinBank fell 0.2 percent, but VCB of Vietcombank edged up 0.1 percent.

VIC of private conglomerate Vingroup, HoSE’s largest market cap, shed 0.5 percent, while VRE of its retail arm Vincom Retail dropped 0.7 percent and VHM of real estate arm Vinhomes fell 1.6 percent.

Other major losing stocks this session included VPB of private VPBank, down 1.8 percent, BVH of insurance giant Bao Viet Group, down 1.6 percent, and NVL of real estate developer Novaland, with 1.5 percent.

In the opposite direction, HDB of private HDBank topped gains with 6.8 percent, its ceiling price. It was followed by SAB of major brewer Sabeco, up 3 percent, and GAS of energy giant PetroVietnam Gas, up 1.5 percent.

Oil and gas stocks all closed in the green, with POW of electricity generator PetroVietnam Power rising 0.5 percent and PLX of petroleum distributor Petrolimex adding 0.2 percent.

Other major gainers included MSN of food conglomerate Masan Group, which rose 1.3 percent, VJC of budget carrier VietJet Air, up 1.2 percent, and EIB of private Eximbank, up 0.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index for stocks on Hanoi Stock Exchange declined 0.44 percent and the UPCoM-Index for stocks on Unlisted Public Companies Market went up 0.7 percent.

Foreign investors continued to be net buyers on all three bourses to the tune of VND56 billion ($2.42 million), with buying pressure mostly on VHM of Vinhomes and VCB of Vietcombank.