The market ended lower on Monday as some investors seized the chance to take profit from the previous rally, while foreign investors continued to be net sellers.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index declined by 0.11 per cent, to 1,065.71 points.

The breadth of the market was neutral with 196 gainers and 197 losers. Matching value on the southern bourse reached VND13.6 trillion (US$579.9 million), equal to a trading volume of more than 834 million shares.

Foreign investors ran away from the market as they net sold a total of VND376 billion on HOSE, mostly Vietinbank (CTG) with VND100 billion and Vinamilk (VNM) with VND53 billion. On the HNX, foreign investors net sold VND16.2 billion, of which Petrovietnam Technical Services (PVS) was the most net-sold with VND25.8 billion.

The VN30-Index posted a rise of 0.42 per cent, to 1,070.90 points. Of the VN30 basket, 15 out of the 30 biggest stocks in market capitalisation on HoSE inched down, while 13 ticker symbols gained and two were flat.

The VN-Index's downward trend was due to weak sentiment and profit-taking activities of some investors, leading to losses of many large-cap stocks.

Vietcombank (VCB), Vietinbank (CTG), Masan Group (MSN), Hoa Phat Group (HPG) and Vietnam Rubber Group (GVR) were the top five stocks with the greatest losses on Monday, dominating the downward trend. The stocks slid in a range of 0.4-3.9 per cent.

The bearish trend was limited by gains of some pillar stocks, led by “Vin” family stocks such as Vingroup (VIC), Vinhomes (VHM) and Vincom Retail (VRE), with an increase of 5.2 per cent, 1 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively in market cap.

Similarly, the HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) also witnessed poor performance on Monday. It ended the trading day at 214.33 points, a dip of 0.36 per cent.

During the session, more than 114.7 million shares were traded on the northern market, worth VND1.6 trillion.

It is expected that the market will be supported at 1,060 – 1,065 points and expand the uptrend in the near future to retest supply at the resistance zone of 1,080 – 1,100 points.

Therefore, investors can expect a shortterm rally of the market. In the meantime, it is possible to consider holding or exploiting short-term opportunities in stocks with good technical signals and attracting cash flow, said Viet Dragon Securities Co. — VNS