The market closed largely unchanged on Wednesday as bullish and bearish sentiments entered a tug-of-war.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index started off the afternoon with a double-bottom pattern but broke above the neckline at around 2pm to begin an upward trend.

The buying and selling forces cancelled each other out, leaving the index more or less stable at 1,218.09 points, down 0.01 points compared to the previous session.

The market’s breadth stood visibly negative as 190 stocks declined while 156 advanced. Notably, eight stocks reached ceiling prices and only one hit floor prices.

The market’s liquidity was relatively low with 519 million shares traded on the southern bourse, equivalent to just over VND10.4 trillion (US$448 million).

The 30 biggest stock tracker VN30-Index reconfirmed the sideways trend by losing 0.01 points, to stay at 1,273.4 points. In the basket, 12 stocks climbed, five stayed flat and 13 slid.

Vietcombank (VCB) was the leading stock behind the market stumble with a drop of 1.05 per cent. Other notable stocks depressing indices included Vietnam Rubber Group (GVR), Vinhomes (VHM), Saigon Beer (SAB), and Eximbank (EIB).

Meanwhile, BIDV (BID) was predominantly propping up the market with an increase of 3.71 per cent. Other stocks that helped counteract the market stumble included Vietnam Dairy Products (VNM), PetroVietnam Gas (GAS), Investment and Industrial Development (BCM), and Hoa Phat Group (HPG).

By sector, bearish sentiments were fueled mainly by electric equipment producers, which dropped by 1.9 per cent sector-wide. Specifically, GELEX Group (GEX) lost 2.15 per cent, SAM Holdings (SAM) 2.93 per cent and Vietnam Electric Cable (CAV) 2.95 per cent.

On the other hand, it was the seafood sector that stirred up bullish sentiments. The sector rose by 2.3 per cent in market cap, with the largest gainers including Vinh Hoan Corp. (VHC), Nam Viet Corp. (ANV) and I.D.I International Development and Investment (IDI).

In the realty sector, the trio stocks of the Vin family – Vingroup (VIC), Vincome (VRE) and Vinhomes (VHM) – saw red on the screen. The first lost 0.27 per cent, the second 1.39 per cent and the last 0.78 per cent.

Banking stocks saw mixed performances with the largest market-cap Vietnambank (VCB) dropping 1.05 per cent. Other big banks were riding high with BIDV (BID) gaining 3.71 per cent, VietinBank (CTG) 0.56 per cent and Techcombank (TCB) 0.14 per cent. VPBank (VPB) and Military Bank (MBB), meanwhile, remained unchanged.

The HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) lost 1.52 points, or 0.54 per cent, to reach 282.35 points.

Foreign investors withdrew from the market as they net sold a total of VND28.81 billion of shares on the two main exchanges. Of which, they net sold VND33.12 billion on HoSE and net bought VND4.31 billion on HNX. — VNS