Vietnam stocks plummet to 3-week low while Asian markets rise

The index closed 12.50 points lower after dropping 6.23 points in the previous session.

Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange increased by 33% to VND15.60 trillion (US$632 million).

The VN-30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 24 tickers fell.

SSB of SeABank plunged 6.1%, followed by VRE of retail real estate arm Vincom Retail with a 4.5% drop.

HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group and TCB of the largest private lender Techcombank both declined by 1.8%.

Five blue chips bucked the trend. VJC of budget airline Vietjet closed 1.2% higher and TPB of private TPBank ended with a 1.1% increase.

Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of VND386 billion, mainly selling FPT of IT giant FPT Corporation and MSN of conglomerate Masan Group.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, fell 0.76%, while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market went down 0.69%.

Asian stocks inched slightly higher on Tuesday but struggled to sustain an upbeat rally on Wall Street as concerns about a faltering Chinese economy dampened the market mood, Reuters reported.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last up a marginal 0.05%, languishing near a one-month low hit in the previous session. Its gains were capped by a slump in Chinese stocks.

China's CSI300 blue-chip index fell to a seven-month trough and last traded 0.17% lower, while the CSI Tourism Index, tumbled to a record low, underscoring the country's anemic consumer demand.