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

Vietnam’s benchmark VN-Index dipped 2 percent to 1,347.14 points Friday, a one month low, with 28 blue chip tickers in the red. 

The index was in the red throughout the day and closed with a nearly 28-point fall. It has closed in the red in four of the past five sessions.

Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, rose 17 percent to VND23.6 trillion ($1.03 billion). The bourse saw 306 tickers lose and 77 gain.

The VN30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 28 tickers in the red, led by NVL of real estate developer Novaland Group with a 6.6 percent drop.

The ticker is now at its lowest since June 18. It has lost over 12 percent in the last two sessions.

VRE of retail real estate arm Vincom Retail fell 6.4 percent, continuing its downward trend that began early April. The ticker is now at a seven-month low.

SBT of sugar producer Thanh Thanh Cong – Bien Hoa JSC dropped 6.2 percent to a five-month low.

Other major losers include HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group, down 3.5 percent, and SSI of leading brokerage SSI Securities Corporation, down 3.3 percent.

The only blue chip ticker to gain this session was MWG of electronics retail chain Mobile World, up 2.3 percent to a new peak.

It has ended in the green for three consecutive sessions despite strong VN-Index fluctuations.

Foreign investors were net buyers to the tune of VND786 billion with strongest pressure on MBB of MBBank and HPG.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, fell 2.93 percent while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market dropped 1.59 percent.