VN-Index down 0.7 pct

The index fluctuated around the 1,332-point range, going as high as 1,336.7 points in the first one hour of the trading before plunging and staying in the red for the rest of the trading session.

Foreign investors were net buyers for the first time in June to the tune of VND250.2 billion ($10.8 million). Their purchases were focused on HPG of steel giant Hoa Phat Group, VNM of dairy giant Vinamilk and SSI of brokerage SSI Securities Corporation.

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based, saw 236 stocks lose and 162 gain, with transaction volume falling 2.01 percent over the previous session to VND25.3 trillion.

The VN30 basket, comprising the index’s 30 largest capped stocks, saw 21 tickers lose and six gain.

The top loser was BID of state-owned lender BIDV, falling 3.4 percent. The ticker pulled the VN-Index down by 1.7 points Thursday session.

VRE of mall operator Vincom Retail slipped 2.8 percent. The ticker has dropped 18.5 percent from this year’s peak on January 25.

NLV of real estate developer Novaland Group fell 2.5 percent from its historic peak and dragged the index down by 0.8 points. NVL has experienced a 115.4 percent surge since the start of this year.

The biggest contributor to the index’s fall Thursday was VIC of Vietnam’s biggest private conglomerate Vingroup, which dropped 1.9 percent.

VMN was top gainer with a 3.5 percent rise, the highest growth since May 10. It was followed by SBT of sugar producer Thanh Thanh Cong–Bien Hoa JSC, up 3.3 percent, and HPG, up 2.6 percent.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, was down 1.75 percent, while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market was down 0.09 percent.