The selling pressure intensified, causing key indices to plunge into the red at the end of the morning session. By the mid-session break, the VN-Index hovered near the reference level, settling at 1,639.45 points; while the HNX-Index posted a 0.93% loss, landing at 282.49 points. The decline intensified, with 540 declining stocks outweighing 207 advancing ones.