However, it recovered throughout the rest of the day and closed nearly 16 points up, the biggest gain in the last eight sessions.

Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, rose 5.3 percent to VND22.7 trillion ($988 million). The figure has stayed above VND20 trillion in the last 13 sessions.

The bourse saw 163 tickers in the green and 252 in the red.

The VN30 basket, comprising the index’s 30 largest capped stocks, saw 23 tickers in the green, led by SSI of securities company SSI Securities Corporation that hit its ceiling of 6.9 percent to reach a new peak. The ticker has gained over 16 percent this year.

PNJ of jewelry firm Phu Nhuan Jewelry also rose to a new peak at 6.2 percent to a new peak after sliding for the last five sessions.

REE of industrial appliance maker Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation also saw a 6.2 percent increase. The ticker is 2 percent away from its previous peak of February 18.

VCB of state-owned lender Vietcombank was among the top blue-chip gainers this session, going up 5.2 percent. The ticker was the strongest contributor to VN-Index’s gain this session, pushing it up by 4.8 points.

POW of electricity producer Petrovietnam Power Corporation was the biggest loser, falling 2.1 percent. It has been in the red for four sessions straight.

SBT of sugar producer Thanh Thanh Cong – Bien Hoa JSC dropped 1.8 percent, while GAS of energy giant PetroVietnam Gas was down 1 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers for the eighth session in a row to the tune of VND565 billion. Selling was focused mainly on KDH of real estate firm Khang Dien House, VPB of private lender VPBank, and NVL of real estate developer Novaland Group.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, rose 0.49 percent, while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market went down 0.08 percent.