The index fluctuated in the 1,290 range during the morning and dipped to 1,277 points in the early afternoon but managed to climb in the last 15 minutes of trading to close with a one-point gain.

Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, plunged nearly 50 percent to VND15.92 trillion ($692 million), the lowest in over 10 weeks, as investors remain cautious about buying due to fear of another plunge.

The VN30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 16 tickers gain, led by SBT of sugar producer Thanh Thanh Cong – Bien Hoa JSC with a 6.8 percent gain.

This is the biggest gain in a day for the ticker in nearly a month. It has been on a downward trend since mid-January.

TCH of real estate company Hoang Huy Investment Financial Services gained 4.8 percent after losing over 14 percent in the last three sessions.

SSI of leading brokerage SSI Securities Corporation gained 4.6 percent, while GAS of state-owned Petrovietnam Gas rose 4 percent.

Other gainers include POW of electricity producer Petrovietnam Power Corporation, up 3.9 percent, and VRE of retail real estate arm Vincom Retail, up 3.1 percent.

On the losing side, PDR of Phat Dat Real Estate Development lost 4.3 percent, and MSN of conglomerate Masan Group fell 4.1 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of VND216 billion, with strongest pressure in VNM of dairy giant Vinamilk and VIC of biggest private conglomerate Vingroup.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, gained 1.27 percent, while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market rose 1.75 percent.