Stocks steady after 6-session gaining streak

The index closed 2.36 points lower after gaining 10.52 points Wednesday.

Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, dropped 1.85% to VND24.77 trillion ($1.03 billion).

The VN30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 16 tickers fell.

VHM of property giant Vinhomes dropped 1.4%, followed by SSB of Southeast Asia Commercial Bank (SeABank) and VIC of private conglomerate Vingroup, both with a 1.3% decline.

HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group closed 1.2% lower.

Eleven blue chips gained, led by GVR of Vietnam Rubber Group with a 1.8% rise.

Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of VND887 billion, mainly selling HPG and SSI of leading brokerage SSI Securities Corporation.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, rose 0.31% while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market gained 0.15%.