Stocks drop after leap, bucking Asian market trends

The index closed 1.53 points lower after gaining 15.52 points in the previous session.

Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange decreased by 12% to VND12.48 trillion (US$492 million).

The VN-30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 25 tickers fell.

GVR of Vietnam Rubber Group and MSN of conglomerate Masan Group both fell 1.2%.

BID of state-owned lender BIDV and TPB of private TPBank both declined by 0.9%.

Five blue chips gained marginally, including FPT of tech giant FPT Corporation and PLX of fuel distributor Petrolimex, both up 0.4%.

Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of VND390 billion, mainly selling VHM of property giant Vinhomes and MSN of conglomerate Masan Group.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, fell 0.12%, while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market went down 0.42%.

Asia-Pacific equity markets traded higher on Thursday, buoyed by a record rise for U.S. shares overnight, as investors mulled the implications of a Donald Trump presidency, while also eyeing policy decisions from the U.S. Federal Reserve and other major central banks later in the day, Reuters reported.

Markets were higher around the region, with Japan's tech-heavy Nikkei 225 the only major stock index to post losses, even as the broader Topix index gained 1%.