A factory of Hòa Phát Group (HPG). HPG rose 1.6 per cent on Tuesday. — Photo HPG

Shares struggled around the reference price range on Tuesday with cautious cash flow and short-term profit-taking pressuring the overall uptrend of the market.

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index rose by 0.19 per cent, to 1,127.63 points.

The breadth of the market was neutral with 248 gainers and 222 losers. Matching value on the southern bourse reached VNĐ14 trillion (US$576 million), equal to a trading volume of more than 646 million shares.

Foreign investors net sold a total of VNĐ285 billion on Tuesday. They have been net selling for 11 straight sessions.

"The market continued to have another session of fluctuating at a narrow range after suffering from great supply pressure at the level of 1,130 points," said Việt Dragon Securities Co.

"Liquidity decreased compared to the previous session while market movements remained stable, showing that supply temporarily cooled. With the current signal, the market has the opportunity to move to the 1,130-1,150 point area in the near future to explore supply and demand and check signals."

"However, it is important to note that this area will potentially have large supply pressure and may have a negative impact on the general market. Therefore, investors still need to observe and evaluate the supply pressure at the resistance zone. Currently, it is possible to prioritise holding stocks with good cash flow signals and support. However, in general, investors should take advantage of the uptrend to take short-term profits on stocks that have increased rapidly to the resistance area."

The VN30-Index posted a rise of 0.35 per cent, to 1,121.21 points. Of the VN30 basket, eight out of the 30 biggest stocks in market capitalisation on HoSE inched down, while 14 ticker symbols gained and eight flat.

In the VN-30 basket, gainers included Hòa Phát Group (HPG), FPT Corporation (FPT) and Bank for Investment and Development (BID).

The VN-Index's upward trend was restrained by profit-taking activities of investors and weak sentiment.

The three stocks putting the worst impact on VN-Index were Masan Group (MSN), Vinamilk (VNM) and Becamex (BCM). They lost between 0.9 per cent and 1.9 per cent.

The HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) ended the trading day at 231.71 points, a rise of 0.15 per cent.

During the session, more than 74 million shares were traded on the northern market, worth VNĐ1.4 trillion. — VNS