Transactions at Bank for Investment and Development of Việt Nam (BID). BID rose 1.4 per cent on Tuesday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese shares stayed flat on Tuesday as early gains were trimmed due to increased selling pressure at the end of the trading session.

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index remained unchanged at 1,277.40 points. The index had declined 0.25 per cent to close Monday at 1,277.35 points.

Nearly 581.5 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth VNĐ14.6 trillion (US$620 million).

The market's breadth returned to a negative zone with more stocks losing points. There were 191 gainers and 261 losers.

The 30 biggest stocks tracker VN30-Index rose 0.07 per cent, to 1,299.06 points. In the VN30 basket, 19 stocks increased, while nine stocks inched lower. Two stocks finished flat.

The banking group attracted cash flow with gainers being Vietinbank (CTG), Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), Vietnam International bank (VIB) and Tiên Phong Bank (TPB), National Commercial Joint Stock Bank (NVB), Vietcombank (VCB), Military Bank (MBB), Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID), Techcombank (TCB), VPBank (VPB) and Sacombank (STB).

Energy stocks saw differences in prices, with gainers such as Việt Nam National Petroleum Group (PLX), Bình Sơn Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited (BSR), PV Power (POW). Meanwhile, losers included PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS), PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corporation (PVD) and Drilling Mud Joint Stock Corporation (PVC).

In general, the cash flow is still cautious under the pressure of the resistance zone. It’s expected that the market will continue to struggle and test supply and demand in the next session, said Việt Dragon Securities Co.

However, it’s still worth noting that the market might weaken before the resistance zone of 1,280-1,300 points. Therefore, temporary investors should still be cautious and limit chasing.

In the meantime, the portfolio restructure should be considered in the direction of risk reduction, since the pressure from the resistance zone on the market is still present, it said.

“Investors should pay attention to the pressure at the resistance zone of 1,280-1,300 points of VN-Index and should take advantage of the uptrend to restructure the portfolio in the direction of reducing risks,” it said.

Regarding the transactions of foreign investors, they were a net seller on the HOSE and a net buyer on the HNX. In the next few sessions, if there is no cash flow factor, the index will probably continue to accumulate around 1,270-1,280 zone, said BIDV Securities Co.

The HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) gained 0.15 per cent, to close at 293.27 points.

More than 67.4 million shares were traded on the northern exchange, worth VNĐ1.3 trillion. — VNS