VN-Index Faces Decline as European Stocks Slip

The VN-Index closed 3.21 points lower, following a drop of 1.77 points in the previous session. Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange surged by 6% to VND15.315 trillion (US$603.2 million).

Of the VN-30 basket, which includes the 30 largest capped stocks, 17 tickers fell. Notably, POW of Petrovietnam Power Corporation saw the steepest decline at 2.0%, followed by BCM of Becamex Investment and Industrial Development at 1.5%, and MWG of Mobile World, down 1.3%.

On the other hand, nine blue chips experienced gains. SHB of Saigon Hanoi Commercial Bank rose 2.4%, HDB of HDBank increased by 1.1%, and FPT of FPT Corporation closed 0.7% higher.

Foreign investors were net sellers, unloading VND179 billion, primarily from FPT and VRE of Vincom Retail. Meanwhile, the HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange fell 0.46%, and the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market edged up 0.02%.

Globally, European stocks retreated from multi-week highs due to a series of disappointing corporate updates and anticipation of U.S. inflation data, as reported by Reuters. The pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.2%, marking its second consecutive day of decline after reaching a seven-week closing high.

Asian markets also paused ahead of a U.S. inflation report that is expected to influence the Federal Reserve's decision on further rate cuts.