With 123 winners and up to 326 losers, the benchmark index shed 8.22 points, or 0.79% over the session earlier at 1,030.91. Trading on the southern bourse improved by 6.9% in volume and over 14% in value at 626 million shares worth over VND13 trillion, including some VND1.7 trillion worth of shares traded in block deals.

Dairy VNM maintained its good performance and was the best winner in the VN30 basket. It expanded nearly 2.1% to VND112,000 with six million shares changing hands.

Besides this, some bluechips such as BID, EIB, KDH, NVL, SSI, REE, and VCB rose slightly, while 22 other stocks in the basket ended with losses. Among the decliners, gas firm GAS, technology company FPT, lender CTG, and housing developer VHM all dropped to their daily low by around 1%. Notably, jewelry maker PNJ plunged as much as 6.9% to its floor price of VND73,000.

Stocks in the steel sector also reversed course to end lower, with HPG, TLH, NKG, and HSG dipping 1.2-3.9%. Of them, HPG was the most actively traded stock on the HCMC market with over 30 million shares transacted.

Speculative stocks also failed to dodge the market’s downward trend as ITA, FLC, DIG, DXG, and HQC closed in negative territory.

On the northern bourse, the HNX-Index managed to make headway despite the increased selling pressure. The index rose by 0.35% against the previous session to reach 159.3 points, with 56 advancers and 88 decliners.