Pillar stocks weaken in unison, VN-Index retreats to near 1,710 point mark

On the morning of October 20, the Vietnamese stock market opened cautiously after a volatile trading week before. Profit-taking pressure spread across large-cap stocks, especially real estate and banking, leaving the main indexes in the red.

Pillar stocks weakened in unison, VN-Index retreated to near the 1,710 point mark. Screenshot

At the end of the morning session, VN-Index decreased by 20.52 points (-1.19%) to 1,710.67 points, while VN30-Index decreased by 24.15 points (-1.22%) to 1,852.99 points. On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, HNX-Index increased slightly by 0.35% to 277.09 points, while UPCoM-Index decreased by 0.45% to 112.16 points.

Total market trading value reached about VND16,250 billion, down more than 9.25% compared to the previous session. The decline in liquidity shows that bottom-fishing demand is still weak, while the selling side maintains its advantage.

The morning session of October 20 also witnessed a sharp decline in most of the pillar stocks. The real estate group continued to be the negative focus of the market when a series of codes fell sharply such as VIC down 3.97%, VHM down 4.14%, VRE down 3.78%, NVL down 6.63%.

These are also the codes that have the strongest impact on the VN-Index, with the Vingroup group alone taking more than 15 points off the general index. Experts believe that the strong selling of this group is a result of the previous hot increase, combined with profit-taking pressure at the short-term peak of 1,780 - 1,800 points.

In the banking group, red dominated when VPB decreased by 2.82%,SHB decreased by 2.49%, MBB decreased by 1.66%, CTG and TCB both decreased by around 1%. Short-term speculative cash flow has withdrawn from the banking group when the growth prospect in the fourth quarter was assessed to be slower than the previous period.

Not only that, the essential consumer goods and industrial goods groups were also under pressure to adjust. Codes such as MSN (-1.82%), HPG (-0.71%), GEX (-0.65%) contributed to the index's decline.

Industry groups fell sharply. Screenshot

On the other hand, some stocks maintained their green color and helped the market limit the decline, notably FPT (+2.04%), MWG (+1.07%), VJC (+1.66%) and SSB (+1.63%). Information technology, telecommunications and software service stocks were a rare bright spot as they continued to attract cash flow thanks to positive business results and stable growth prospects.

By sector, Consumer Services decreased the most with -4.33%, Real Estate decreased -3.22%, Credit Institutions decreased -0.88%, Insurance decreased -0.69%. Meanwhile, Telecommunication Services increased by 7.42% and Software - Technology Services increased by 2.10%. This reflects the trend of temporary cash flow shifting to defensive sectors.

The data also shows that foreign investors net sold more than VND1,177 billion, with a selling value of VND2,482 billion, while buying only VND1,305 billion, continuing to put pressure on pillar stocks. According to experts, this is one of the factors that makes domestic investors more cautious, especially after the market reached a new peak in early October.

Securities companies believe that the short-term trend of the VN-Index is in a state of adjustment after a series of strong increases since the end of September. Saigon - Hanoi Securities Company (SHS) believes that the index is under pressure at the 1,780 - 1,800 point range, corresponding to the trend line connecting the peaks of 2018, 2021 and 2022. In a negative scenario, the VN-Index may retest the support zone of 1,700 points, coinciding with the old peak of September 2025.

Strong downward pressure comes from large-cap stocks. Screenshot

BIDV Securities Company (BSC) recommends investors to trade cautiously and avoid panic selling when the market fluctuates. Although the volume is not too large, the sharp decline of VN-Index shows that profit-taking pressure at the peak is dominant.

Asean Securities Company (Aseansc) commented that the index is in a pull-back phase (technical adjustment), but the medium-term uptrend has not been broken yet. The nearest support zone is determined around 1,700 - 1,710 points, while short-term resistance is at 1,750 - 1,760 points.

From a technical perspective, the RSI is falling from the overbought zone, while the MACD remains positive but the gap between the two signal lines is narrowing. This reflects weakening short-term bullish momentum, but the overall trend remains in an uptrend channel since May 2025.

According to the assessment of Thien Viet Securities Company (TVS), the market needs to absorb the selling pressure at the high level before establishing a new uptrend. Investors should maintain the stock proportion at an average level and should not open new large-scale positions until the VN-Index stabilizes above the 1,720-point area.

Tien Phong Securities Company (TPS) believes that this correction is “healthy”, helping the market rebalance and opening up buying opportunities at reasonable prices. However, investors should prioritize groups of stocks with good fundamentals such as technology, energy, telecommunications, and businesses with positive third-quarter business results.

In the long term, macroeconomic factors such as stable inflation, loose monetary policy and the prospect of market upgrade continue to be the driving force supporting Vietnamese stocks. Many experts believe that the end of the year may witness the return of foreign capital flows, especially when ETF funds expand their portfolios in the Southeast Asian region.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thi-truong-tien-te/co-phieu-tru-dong-loat-suy-yeu-vnindex-lui-ve-sat-moc-1710-diem-20251020120609173.htm