The market ended lower on Friday as investors tended to reduce their holdings in stocks before the Tet holidays. But it still headed for the first weekly gain of 2023.

On the southern bourse Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index decreased slightly by 4.38 points to end the first trading week of 2023 at 1,051.44 points, a fall of 0.41 per cent.

The index reversed the bullish trend set since the beginning of the year as selling pressure rose due to risk-off sentiment ahead of Tet.

The market breadth was negative with up to 230 stocks on HoSE finishing lower, while 92 stocks adding points. Liquidity, however, rose over the previous session. Of which, nearly VND11.95 trillion (US$509 million) worth of shares was traded on HoSE, equal to a trading volume of nearly 698.5 million shares.

The VN30-Index also declined by 4.5 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 1,057.4 points.

In the 30 biggest stocks VN30 basket, 12 stocks edged up and 14 went down, while four ended flat.

Data compiled by finance website vietstock.vn showed that the manufacturing sector dominated the market’s downtrend, with many pillar stocks posting great losses.

Specifically, Masan Group (MSN) was the biggest loser, down 3.72 per cent.

Other ticker symbols weighing on the sentiment were Vinamilk (VNM), Hoa Phat Group (HPG), and Vietnam Rubber Group (GVR). These stocks all fell at least 1.7 per cent.

Stocks in other industries such as PV Gas (GAS), Becamex (BCM), Vietjet Aviation (VJC), and Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG) also witnessed poor performances, down in a range of 1-2 per cent.

Losses were pared by gains in bank stocks, led by BIDV (BID) as the bank shares jumped by 2.21 per cent.

The HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) also settled lower, ending the three-day rally. Accordingly, the northern market’s benchmark closed the week at 210.65 points, a dip of 2.46 points, or 1.15 per cent.

During the session, more than 70.7 million shares were traded on HNX, worth more than VND981 billion.

The bright spot of the trading day was support from foreign capital flows, as foreign investors continued to be net buyers on both main exchanges.

Of which, they net bought a value of VND352.2 billion on HoSE, and VND10.15 billion on HNX. — VNS