HÀ NỘI — The stock market declined slightly on Tuesday, with the VN-Index ending its five-session winning streak. Liquidity also saw a slight decrease, while foreign investors extended their net-selling trend.

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index lost 1.4 points, or 0.11 per cent, closing at 1,303.16 points.

Despite the decline, market breadth remained positive, with 152 gainers, 150 decliners and 71 unchanged stocks. Trading liquidity fell slightly to VNĐ19.5 trillion (approximately US$764.9 million), marking a 7.1 per cent decrease from the previous session.

Meanwhile, the VN30-Index, which tracks the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation, also declined, losing 3.96 points, or 0.29 per cent, to settle at 1,360.56 points. Within the VN30 basket, 18 stocks fell, nine advanced and three remained unchanged.

The market’s downturn was primarily driven by losses in blue-chip technology and banking stocks. The Bank for Foreign Trade of Việt Nam (VCB) posted the sharpest drop, slipping 0.96 per cent, erasing nearly 1.2 points from the VN-Index. FPT Corporation (FPT) also declined, losing 1.07 per cent, while Viet Nam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (VNM) fell 1.41 per cent.

Despite the overall market weakness, several large-cap stocks helped limit the decline. Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MBB) led the market, rising 1.74 per cent, contributing nearly 0.6 points to the VN-Index. Investment and Industrial Development Corporation (BCM) gained 2.82 per cent, while Vinhomes JSC (VHM) advanced 1.24 per cent, and Masan Group Corporation (MSN) increased by 1.18 per cent.

Market analysts at Saigon - Hanoi Securities (SHS) observed that following the previous session’s uptrend, the market opened in positive territory, but quickly retreated after reaching a new high of 1,309 points, reflecting cautious investor sentiment.

"The primary market movement throughout the session was marked by investors testing the waters below reference levels. Liquidity decreased compared to the previous session, suggesting that selling pressure was not significantly impacting the market. The pullback appears to be a cooling-off phase rather than a full-fledged distribution pattern following the breakout past 1,300 points.

"The 1,300-point level is expected to act as a support zone in the next trading session. If capital inflows remain stable, the market still has a chance to challenge the 1,310-point resistance level in the near term."

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index also edged down 0.08 per cent, closing at 238.31 points. Trading value on the northern bourse reached VNĐ1.3 trillion, with more than 83 million shares changing hands.

Foreign investors continued their selling spree, offloading shares worth VNĐ339 billion on the HoSE and over VNĐ11 billion on HNX. — VNS