The market was mixed on the last trading day of the week, as the benchmark VN-Index was dragged down by rising selling force after the previous session's strong rebound, whereas foreign investors also dumped a large amount on main exchanges.
On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index ended the week at 1,027.36 points, a decline of 0.65 points, or 0.06 per cent. It gained 34.65 points on Thursday, helping the index break over the psychological level of 1,000 points.
The market's breadth, however, was still positive with more stocks increasing on the southern bourse. Liquidity dropped slightly compared to the previous session, of which matching value on HoSE fell by 8.8 per cent to nearly VND8.7 trillion (US$349 million), equal to a matching volume of 516 million shares.
In contrast, the VN30-Index, which tracks the 30 biggest stocks on HoSE, rose 0.99 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 1,029.49 points. In the VN30 basket, ten stocks jumped with one hitting the ceiling price, while 19 stocks slid and one stock stayed flat.
The northern market's benchmark index extended the previous trade's strong rally. It closed the trading day at 213.73 points, down 0.1 points, or 0.05 per cent.
During the session, VND735.32 billion worth of shares, equivalent to a trading volume of more than 58.7 million shares, was traded on HNX.
The market witnessed a clear divergence among stock groups.
Leading the upside were banking and real estate industries, of which Techcombank (TCB) was the biggest gainer of the day. The bank's shares registered the maximum daily gain of 7 per cent.
It was followed by Vinhomes (VHM) and Vingroup (VIC), with increases of 2.05 per cent and 1.27 per cent, respectively.
Other stocks cushioning investors' sentiment were Masan Group (MSN), Vietnam Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MSB), Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) and MBBank (MBB).
However, stronger selling pressure in the afternoon trade overweighed the bullish trend, as some investors seized opportunities of the previous session's rally to take profits. Hoa Phat Group (HPG) posted the greatest losses, down 3.45 per cent.
Big losses of Eximbank (EIB), down 6.19 per cent, and Novaland (NVL), down 1.89 per cent, also weighed on the market.
Foreign investors also fled the market as they net sold over VND3.4 trillion on two main exchanges. Specifically, they sold a net value of VND3.41 trillion on HoSE and VND27.92 billion on HNX. — VNS