Vietnam’s benchmark VN Index retreated 0.72 per cent on Wednesday as investors booked profit after the market closed above a three-month high in the previous session.
Active buying from both domestic and foreign investors in big-caps, especially the banking sector, lifted the index surpass its highest since November 17 on Tuesday to 596.95 points, near a strong resistance level of 600 points, analysts said.
More than half of the total equities headed south on Wednesday, led by Hanoi-based Vietcombank, Vietnam’s top lender by market value, with a 2.31 per cent fall from its record high hit on Tuesday.
Property firm Vingroup lost 2.91 per cent. Top insurer Baoviet Holdings declined 3.02 per cent after a streak of 10 gains, while PetroVietNam Gas, the country’s biggest firm by capitalisation, decreased 1.26 per cent.
Analysts expected some further corrections before the index rebound, buoyed by extended foreign purchase and higher volume, which picked up to a three-week high at 99 million shares on Wednesday, Reuters data showed.