Shares ended their rally on Friday morning with the VN-Index dropping below the historic high of 1,200 points.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the benchmark VN-Index shed 0.55 per cent, equivalent to 6.55 points, to 1,194.39 points. The index hit the highest level since the market was founded in Việt Nam yesterday.

The market's breadth turned negative as 273 stocks declined while 168 stocks increased. But the market's liquidity was still high with a trading value of nearly VND13 trillion, equivalent to nearly 530.5 million shares traded on the southern market.

The fall in large-cap stocks was the main cause for the market's negative performance.

The VN30-Index, tracking the 30 biggest stocks in market value, decreased 0.64 per cent to 1,200.76 points. Twenty-two of the VN30 basket slid, while only six stocks increased.

Big stocks across all sectors faced selling pressure. Top five stocks posting the biggest losses were Vietcombank (VCB), down 1.64 per cent, Vinhomes JSC (VHM), down 1,1 per cent, PetroVietnam Gas JSC (GAS), down 1.63 per cent, Vietnam Rubber Group - JSC (GVR), down 1.79 per cent, and Masan Group Corporation (MSN), down 2.34 per cent.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index also dropped 0.75 per cent to 275.44 points, while the HNX30-Index posted a decrease of 0.62 per cent to 402.76 points. VNS