The Vietnamese stock market experienced one of its most negative trading sessions of 2026, with a massive sell-off leading to a loss of nearly 310 trillion VND, equivalent to about $12 billion, in market capitalization. The VN-Index fell by 62.03 points, or 3.6%, closing at 1,668.53 points. This decline is the most significant since the Middle Eastern conflict escalated earlier this year, bringing the index down to its lowest level in nearly four months.

During the trading session, selling pressure dominated, overshadowing any attempts to buy the dip. Investor sentiment remained pessimistic, prompting many to reduce their stock holdings and preserve capital rather than wait for a potential recovery. The market saw widespread declines across various sectors, including banking, securities, real estate, retail, steel, and energy.

By the end of the session, the VN-Index had not only lost crucial support levels but had also dropped sharply in the afternoon as buying interest proved too weak against the growing selling pressure. The liquidity across all three exchanges reached nearly 25 trillion VND, similar to the previous session, indicating active trading, primarily driven by aggressive selling and the transfer of shares among investors looking to exit positions.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index fell by 5.25 points, or 1.9%, to 275.49 points, while the UPCoM-Index lost 0.65 points, or 0.5%, to 124.77 points. Overall, the market recorded 517 declining stocks (including 28 hitting the floor price), 833 at reference prices, and 197 gaining stocks (with 18 hitting the ceiling price).

The VN30 group, which represents large-cap stocks, posed the biggest challenge to the market, with 27 out of 30 stocks declining. Only two stocks managed to rise, and one remained at the reference price, causing the index for this group to drop by over 54 points to 1,826 points. The pressure on the VN-Index was particularly severe among blue-chip stocks, with the largest market cap stocks, VIC and VHM, both hitting their floor prices, contributing approximately 32 points to the index's decline.

Other significant declines included VCB (-3.9%), CTG (-3.9%), GAS (-5.3%), and MWG, which also hit the floor price. The simultaneous weakness of many key stocks rendered any efforts to stabilize the market ineffective. Conversely, only a small number of stocks managed to remain in positive territory, primarily those with medium or small market capitalizations, such as VNM (+1.2%) and FTS (+3.2%). However, their limited market cap meant they had little impact on the overall index.

Foreign investors also added to the market's pressure, selling a net value of over 1.9 trillion VND. The selling was concentrated in large-cap stocks like SSI, VIC, and VCB. In contrast, foreign purchases were limited to a few stocks, with VNM receiving about 166 billion VND in net purchases.

As a result of the widespread sell-off, the VN-Index officially fell below the 1,700-point mark, reaching its lowest level in nearly four months as the market continued to face overwhelming selling pressure.