The VN-Index had plunged 111 points, or 6.2 percent, to just above 1,655 points at 9:35 a.m. This marks the largest single-point drop in the 26-year history of Vietnam’s stock market.
The electronic board on the HoSE was awash in red, with 325 stocks declining, including 181 hitting their floor prices, while only 15 stocks advanced. A similar picture unfolded on the VN30 board: aside from DGC, which managed to remain in positive territory, the remaining 29 stocks fell into the red, including 14 that dropped to their floor limits.
Oil and gas stocks, after briefly surging in the early minutes of trading, also reversed course and declined amid the market’s extremely negative momentum.
However, bottom-fishing cash flows began to show signs of increasing. At the moment when the VN-Index had lost more than 110 points, liquidity on the HoSE had already surpassed VND14 trillion. Although the market had been open for just over an hour, two stocks—HPG and FPT—each recorded trading values exceeding VND1 trillion.
In contrast to the panic among domestic investors, foreign investors appeared relatively calm. Up to that point, they had posted a net sell value of only about VND200 billion on the HoSE. Among them, FPT remained the most heavily net-sold stock, with around VND120 billion.
After the initial panic selling, the VN-Index’s downward momentum briefly slowed thanks to bottom-fishing demand. However, this positive signal quickly faded under intense selling pressure from holders.
By 10:30 a.m., the VN-Index had dropped 112 points, or 6.34 percent, to 1,655.7 points. Across the HoSE, 343 stocks were declining, including 197 at floor prices, while only 11 stocks gained.
Amid extreme investor anxiety, two rubber stocks bucked the trend, with HRC and TNC surging to their ceiling prices.
Market liquidity continued to climb sharply, with 743 million shares matched, equivalent to a trading value of VND21.78 trillion.
The sell-off persisted through the end of the morning session. By midday, the VN-Index had temporarily recorded a decline of nearly 6.5 percent, equivalent to 114.4 points, falling to 1,653.4 points.
At the close of the morning session, the HoSE board showed 357 decliners, including 219 floor-limit stocks, alongside 14 gainers and 7 unchanged stocks. On the VN30 board, all 30 stocks declined, with 24 plunging to their floor prices.
Relentless selling pressure showed no sign of easing, causing bottom-fishing cash flows to stall. By the end of the morning session, total trading value on the HoSE exceeded VND26 trillion, equivalent to 853.8 million shares changing hands.
Amid the market’s extremely negative developments, many investors on stock market forums have raised the question of whether the State Securities Commission should “pull the plug”, temporarily halting trading, to curb the market’s steep decline.
