VN-Index drops as Omicron variant stirs fear

The index started off in the red and plunged by 25 points in the morning, with buying pressure eventually narrowing the plunge to help it close eight points lower.

Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, fell 10.8 percent to VND31.59 trillion ($1.39 billion).

The drop came as major markets in the U.S. and Asia fell due to uncertainty whether the Omicron variant would derail economic recovery and the tightening plans of some central banks.

The VN30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 26 tickers in the red, led by VCB of state-owned lender Vietcombank with a 3.7 percent drop.

This is its second losing session after going up five consecutive sessions.

VJC of budget airline Vietjet lost 3.5 percent to the lowest in over two months.

PLX of fuel distributor Petrolimex fell 3.3 percent to a three-week low.

PNJ of Phu Nhuan Jewelry also dropped 3.3 percent to its lowest since Oct. 21.

Other losers included MSN of conglomerate Masan Group, down 3.2 percent, and STB of Ho Chi Minh City-based lender Sacombank, down 3.1 percent.

Four blue chip tickers bucked the trend, led by VIC of biggest private conglomerate Vingroup with a ceiling increase of 6.9 percent as trading volume tripled from the average of the last 10 sessions.

SSI of leading brokerage SSI Securities Corporation gained 3.4 percent to a new peak.

Foreign investors were net sellers for the fourth session in a row to the tune of VND352 billion. They focused on selling CEO of real estate developer CEO Group and HCM of Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corporation.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, rose 0.43 percent while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market remained unchanged.