Viet Nam’s benchmark VN Index ended on a negative note for the second day in a row as profit-taking pressure rose in the last minutes to limit the growth of large-cap companies.

The VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange fell 0.44 per cent to close at 911.12 points after having gained as much as 0.74 per cent during the session.

The southern stock index has dropped a total of 0.7 per cent in the last two trading sessions.

Market trading liquidity remained almost unchanged with more than 118.4 million shares being traded, worth VND2.77 trillion (US$123.4 million).

Large-cap stocks underperformed, pulling the blue-chip VN30 Index down 0.09 per cent to 897.96 points with 11 of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation in the basket on the downward trend.

According to Viet Dragon Securities Company (VDSC), the massive selling in large-cap stocks during last minutes of the At-the-Close (ATC) period made the VN Index fall short.

Among decliners in the VN30 basket were insurance-finance group Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), steel producer Hoa Sen (HSG), Binh Minh Plastic JSC (BMP), property developer Vingroup (VIC) and Vietcombank (VCB).

Those 11 declining blue chips decreased by between 0.1 per cent and 3 per cent.

Across the stock market, half of the 20 sectors saw share prices decline, including insurance, energy, securities and real estate.

Low trading liquidity was also a negative signal for the overall market, indicating investors remained highly cautious and unwilling to make buy-in decisions at the moment, Bao Viet Securities Company (BVSC) said in its daily report.

Meanwhile, foreign investors remained net sellers on the southern market with a total of VND80.4 billion worth of net sell value.

“The index may encounter some volatility and decline in the next session after a number of stocks approached the next resistance and could suffer strong profit-taking pressure in the last minutes,” BVSC said.

“The VN Index suffered selling pressure in the last minutes again and slipped despite an upward trend during most of the trading session, therefore, the market may experience a correction in the next session.”

The next threshold for the benchmark VN Index could be the range of 895-900 points, it forecast.

Most of the bank stocks stood strong but low liquidity is the biggest concern for now.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX Index extended growth for a third straight day, increasing by 0.86 per cent to end at 101.62 points.

The northern market index has gained a total of 5.4 per cent after the last three sessions. – VNS