Benchmark indices end mixed due to rising profit-taking pressure

Benchmark indices end mixed due to rising profit-taking pressure

However, the losses were capped by gains in some big names, which led by Vingroup (VIC). The conglomerate gained 0.92 per cent, contributing to over 3.3 points to the VN-Index.

A manufacturing facility of VinFast, a subsidiary of Vingroup, in Hải Phòng City. Shares of Vingroup rose over 0.9 per cent on Wednesday, cushioning the market's downturn. — Photo courtesy of Vingroup

The stock market was mixed on Wednesday as profit-taking intensified after the benchmark VN-Index approached the key resistance zone around 1,790 points.

Despite the late-session pullback, foreign investors extended their buying streak, with net purchases concentrated in large-cap stocks.

The VN-Index on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HoSE) finished the session down 0.77 points to 1,776.46 points. This snapped the index's streak of two days in a row of gains. 

The breadth of the market fell to negative territory as the number of decliners surpassed that of gainers by 189 to 125. Liquidity, however, improved from the previous session, reaching over VNĐ20.4 trillion (US$778.7 million).

The VN30-Index, tracking the 30 biggest stocks on HoSE, also decreased 10.47 points to 1,916.88 points. Within the VN30 basket, 18 stocks ticked down while six edged higher and six ended flat. 

Trading throughout the session suggested that buying demand remained present but was insufficient to absorb growing selling pressure as the benchmark approached the 1,780-1,800 point resistance range. 

Data compiled by a financial website vietstock.vn showed that Vietcombank (VCB) was the market's biggest dragger, erasing 1.22 points from the VN-Index. 

It was followed by Techcom Securities (TCX), LPBank (LPB), Vinamilk (VNM), Masan Group (MSN) and Sacombank (SCB). These stocks posted declines in a range of 1.2-2.6 per cent. 

However, the losses were capped by gains in some big names, which led by Vingroup (VIC). The conglomerate gained 0.92 per cent, contributing to over 3.3 points to the VN-Index. 

Other supporters were Vietnam Airlines (HVN), PV Gas (GAS), Phu Nhuan Jewellery (PNJ), Novaland (NVL) and Gelex Infrastructure (GEL). They all rose at least 0.86 per cent, with PNJ even hitting the maximum daily gain of 7 per cent. 

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index extended its rallies, up 7.18 points, or 2.51 per cent, to 293.59 points. Investors poured nearly VNĐ947.7 billion on the northern bourse, equal to a trading volume of over 59 million shares. 

A bright spot for the market was continued foreign investor participation. Overseas investors recorded net purchases of more than VNĐ499 billion on HoSE, extending their recent buying streak.

Foreign capital flowed primarily into large-cap names, with Vinhomes (VHM), VIC, MBBank (MBB), PNJ and VietinBank (CTG) leading net purchases. 

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