Daily Market Watch 24/07/2025: VN-Index Wavers as Large Caps Falter, Mid- and Small-Caps Take the Lead

MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

• The VN-Index opened on a positive note, supported by continued momentum from previous sessions. However, sentiment turned cautious in the early afternoon as foreign investors shifted to net selling, triggering a sharp pullback in large-cap stocks, with some names falling over 2% — including VIC and VHM, which briefly dipped below reference levels. This sudden shift contributed to a wave of panic selling among retail investors, causing the index to drop nearly 10 points intraday.
• Despite the volatility, strong domestic buying interest returned, effectively absorbing selling pressure and driving a broad-based recovery across key sectors. Large-cap stocks rebounded toward the close, enabling the VN-Index to finish with a modest gain. Meanwhile, speculative flows rotated into mid- and small-cap stocks, where midcaps outperformed, rising 1.01%, and dozens of small-cap names hit ceiling prices, even as the Smallcap index added just 0.17%. On the HoSE, 109 stocks gained over 1%, though only 11 belonged to the VN30 basket.
• Over the past three sessions, market breadth has narrowed notably, as the number of decliners has steadily increased. This points to growing market divergence, with bottom-fishing flows proving insufficient to lift the broader market. Trading activity was marked by multiple pullbacks, and recovery levels varied widely across stocks. Ultimately, the VN-Index closed higher by 0.58% (+8.71 points), settling at 1,521.02 pts.
• Liquidity remained robust, with total trading value reaching USD 1.4 billion. Foreign investors were net sellers across all three exchanges, with HoSE alone seeing net outflows of USD 11 million. Top net buy names included: HDB (+USD 18.3 million), SSI (+USD 6.9 million), VNM (+USD 6.80 million). On the net selling side: HPG (-USD 14.96 million), MSN (-USD 10.99 million), VHM (-USD 7.97 million).