The market ended mixed on Friday morning as early gains were capped by surging selling pressure in some large-cap stocks.

The market benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) finished the morning trade at 1,354.66 points, up 1.9 points, or 0.14 per cent.

The market's breadth was negative as 264 stocks declined, while 114 stocks rose. The liquidity also dropped sharply compared to yesterday. Accordingly, more than 347.2 million shares were traded on the southern market, worth nearly VND9.2 trillion (US$404 million).

The index struggled in the morning trade, but gains in large-cap stocks was still strong enough to outweigh the rising selling force.

The VN30-Index, which tracks 30 biggest stocks on HoSE, climbed 3.1 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 1,461.33 points. 18 of 30 biggest stocks in the VN30 basket increased, while eight stocks slid and four stocks stayed unchanged.

Of which, Vinhomes (VHM) led the market's uptrend, up 0.88 per cent. It was followed by Techcombank (TCB) and PetroVietnam Gas (PVG), up 1.2 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively.

On the contrary, many pillar stocks posted big losses this morning such as Masan Group (MSN) down 1.24 per cent, Đức Giang Chemicals Group (DGC), down 4.87 per cent, and Novaland (NVl), down 0.49 per cent.

The HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX), meanwhile, edged 0.15 per cent lower to 360.48 points. VNS