VN-Index plummets as Asian stocks head for weekly loss

The index closed 13.32 points lower after dropping 14.15 points in the previous session.

Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange increased by 16% to VND18.648 trillion (US$734.4 million).

The VN-30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 26 tickers fell.

SSI of brokerage SSI Securities Corporation saw the biggest drop of 3.0%, followed by MWG of electronics retail chain Mobile World with a 2.3% decline and HDB of of lender HDBank, down 2.2%

Only three blue chips gained, including VRE of retail real estate arm Vincom Retail with a 0.6% increase, SSB of SeABank, which closed 0.3% higher, and BVH of insurance company Bao Viet Holdings, up 0.1%.

Foreign investors were net seller to the tune of VND1.316 trillion, mainly selling VHM of property giant Vinhomes and ACB of Asia Commercial Bank.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, fell 1.02%, while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market went down 0.62%.

Globally, Asian shares looked to end a brutal week on a steadier note on Friday, helped by Chinese data showing retail sales in the world’s second-biggest economy beat forecasts in October in a welcome sign for consumer spending, although other indicators missed, Reuters reported.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.4% but was still down 4.1% for the week, its biggest weekly loss since June 2023.

A regional healthcare index underperformed with a drop of 0.7%, after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine sceptic, to lead the top U.S. health agency.

Tokyo’s Nikkei, however, gained 0.7% driven by a pull back in the yen, which boosted the outlook for Japanese exporters. Still, it was down 1.7% for the week.

Chinese shares trimmed earlier losses as official data showed retail sales rose by a better-than-expected 4.8% in October, but growth in industrial output missed forecasts and declines in property investment deepened.

China’s blue chips were last down 0.2% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.5%.