Strong buys by foreign traders failed to rescue the VN-Index from another fall on Tuesday, with the benchmark giving up 1.47 per cent to close at 1,023.13 points.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index lost 1.3 per cent on Monday.

The market breadth was negative with 382 stocks declining, 89 rising and 153 closing flat.

Liquidity increased slightly. Nearly 1.1 billion shares worth VND17.5 trillion (US$705.6 million) were traded, up 9 per cent in both volume and value over Monday’s figures.

Foreign investors' investment rescued many stocks in the VN30 group (which tracks the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity), helping cushion the VN30 Index from a steep 3.3 per cent in the morning to just 1.95 per cent by the end of the session.

They were responsible for a total net buy value of nearly VND1.9 trillion ($76.6 million) on the HCM City’s exchange, of which they net bought VND510 billion in the VN30 stocks. Their net buys extended to 21 straight sessions in a row.

Vietnam Power Development (VPD) led foreign traders’ buys with a net value of VND781 billion, followed by steelmaker Hoa Phat Group (HPG) and Sacombank (STB) with a net value of more than VND100 billion each.

Thanks to foreign buys, except for HPG dropping by 5 per cent, VPD gained 5 per cent and STB recovered from a two-day loss to an increase of 0.2 per cent by the end of the session.

On the bright side, some heavyweight stocks climbed and contributed to the VN-Index such as Vinamilk (VNM), Vietinbank (CTG), Vietnam Airlines (HVN) and Eximbank (EIB) with growth of between 1.6 per cent and 4.9 per cent.

“Although there was an upward move, the market continued to fail to overcome the resistance area of 1,065 points of VN-Index. The cash flow was maintained when the market approached this resistance area, and concurrently selling pressure continued to exert pressure,” said Phuong Nguyen, a stock analyst at Viet Dragon Securities Co.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index also declined for a second day, losing 2.22 per cent to end at 207.53 points. It decreased by 0.4 per cent on Monday.

Liquidity increased with 135 million shares worth nearly VND1.8 trillion being traded, up 26 per cent in volume and 13 per cent in value compared to the previous session. — VNS