Daily Market Watch 20/10/2025: Panic Selling Turns into a Biggest Single Day Drop in Vietnam

MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

o       The market extended the correction from the previous session (last Friday) and opened lower. Investors were rather panic due to a report during the weekend by the Government Inspectorate which. published the investigation result of bonds issuances by 67 companies during 2015–2023. The report revealed several violations, including (1) banks using long-term bonds to fund short-term loans and (2) real estate developers issuing bonds to roll over existing debt — a prohibited practice. Additional irregularities were found in companies’ disclosure documents. Several familiar related names include NVL, MBB, ACB, VPB, MCH, etc. Particularly, the investigator suggested to transfer NVL case to the Ministry of Public Security for further action. 

o       The market reacted to the news mildly negative, NVL hit the floor early in the session. Banking stocks and other large caps such as MSN also fell but not as sharply, as investors viewed the issue as having limited impact on their core businesses. VN-Index dropped 20.52 points (-1.19%) to around 1,710 points by mid-day. Market breadth was negative with 189 decliners versus 126 gainers. The market was hit by several factors, including: (1) The negative bond news, (2) The further correction of Vin-related stocks for the fourth consecutive session, and (3) Continued strong foreign selling activities. We saw that retail investors were more panic as many are facing a sizable loss in the last several weeks if they do not hold Vingroup or Gelex related stocks.

o       A sudden surge of panic selling hit the market in the afternoon despite the absence of new catalysts. The VN-Index plunged 94.76 points (-5.47%) to close at 1,636.43. Stock prices tumbled massively from 2pm. Many retail investors were in a real mess as the correction spread to the broader market and most stocks declined over 3%. This led to a panic sell-off across the market and turned to a steepest single-day drop in Vietnam. Market breadth turned extremely negative with 325 decliners versus only 34 gainers. On the HoSE alone, 108 stocks hit floor price. aAcross all three bourses, 149 stocks closed at their lower limits — the highest number since April 9, 2025. 

o       The sell-off was primarily driven by the fact that the VN-Index had rallied sharply in recent weeks, leaving the market highly sensitive to negative rumors. Vingroup and Gelex-related stocks after a decent rally last week corrected sharply and hurt the Index. This resulted in further concerns in the broader market. Besides, margin call pressures could be blamed for the run-away in the last session.  

o       Market liquidity surged sharply amid the sell-off. Total trading value reaching USD 2.05 bn (+33% DoD). Foreign investors continued to be serious sellers. They net sold of USD 75.5 mn, mainly in MSN (-USD 25.2 mn), CTG (-USD 10.1 mn), and STB (-USD 8.4 mn). While their buying was modest in VIX (+USD 4.7 mn), DIG (+USD 4.5 mn), and VJC (+USD 4.4 mn). 

o       All stocks in the VN30 basket declined, 13 names hit floor price. The VN30 Index dropped 106.28 points (-5.38%) today amid total net foreign outflows of USD 61.73 mn. Mid-cap stocks, which briefly gained in the morning, were hit hard in the afternoon and underperformed the overall market (VNMID -6.2%). Small caps, having corrected earlier, fell less sharply (VNSML -4.4%). 

o       All sectors declined today. High-beta sectors led the losses, including Financials (-6.2%), Real Estate (-5.6%), Materials (-6.4%), and Consumer Staples (-5.7%). The IT sector fell a modest -1.5% after having corrected heavily in previous sessions. 

o       The only bright spot came from stocks under the Viettel Group, which gained strongly including VTP (+4.5%), CTR (+3.88%), VGI (+4.75%), and VTK (+3.95%). Investors attributed this rebound to (1) deep corrections in prior sessions and (2) strong Q3 earnings performance across the group.