Closing the session on July 22, VN-Index decreased by 62.03 points. The sharp decrease became a "painful blow" to investors when VN-Index recently continuously suffered great pressure and lost important milestones, from the above 1,850 points at the beginning of July 2026 to 1,668.5 points.
After today's trading session, the capitalization of the Vietnamese stock market on all three exchanges (HoSE, HNX and UPCoM) decreased by nearly 310,000 billion VND, equivalent to about 12 billion USD.
Selling pressure spread throughout the market, especially weighing heavily on large-cap stocks, real estate and banking (such as VIC, VHM, VCB, CTG, BID), causing the VN-Index to fall below the 1,700 point mark. Most of the bottom-fishing efforts of cash flow were swept away due to cautious sentiment and widespread profit-taking/loss-cutting pressure.
The main reason for the VN-Index's deep decline in recent sessions is believed by analysts to be due to increased margin call pressure. Currently, the scale of margin debt on market capitalization is still high while many stocks have fallen deeply, even breaking through the bottom zone established in March.
A noteworthy point in the current stock market is that margin pressure this time mainly comes from large investor groups such as domestic organizations, large shareholders or business owners, instead of individual investors. The "cross-call margin" effect spreads to businesses with good fundamentals and stable business results, causing stock prices to simultaneously decline.
Meanwhile, looking at the market liquidity in the past time, it has been maintained at a low level for many months. For example, in the second quarter of 2026, the average trading value on HOSE only reached 22,200 billion VND/session, down 30% compared to the first quarter of 2026 and the lowest in the past 4 quarters. This shows that most small investors have proactively reduced the use of leverage from before.
Looking at market developments, this is not necessarily a large-scale margin call session for individual investors, because the number of stocks falling to the floor is not too large and active selling pressure still accounts for a significant proportion.
Therefore, attention lies on margin risks related to large shareholders or corporate stock collateral loans. During a period of deep market decline, stock prices of many businesses may approach the value range of collateral at securities companies or lending institutions. If this pressure increases, the risk of sell-offs from large loans may have a stronger impact than normal margin calls from individual investors.
In the current context, according to experts, the market cannot reverse soon and investors need to act cautiously. It is likely that this is a strong "wash-out" to eliminate short-term selling pressure. After this period, the market may have a recovery phase. Positive signals will be clearer when the index stops falling and the number of stocks falling widely narrows.
In the context of strong market fluctuations, the top priority for investors is risk management. Reducing margin ratios, maintaining a high cash ratio and avoiding chasing purchases in technical recovery phases is necessary to protect purchasing power for the next period.
In parallel with that, investors should start building a list to track leading businesses in the banking, securities and manufacturing sectors with healthy financial foundations, stable cash flow, well-controlled borrowing and valuations approaching past crisis zones.This group can become an opportunity if the market shows clearer signs of balance.
