Hòa Phát's workers loading products on a boat for export. The steel producer's shares surged nearly 2 per cent, cushioning the losses. — Photo courtesy of the company

HÀ NỘI — Benchmark indices were mixed on Tuesday with the VN-Index extending its losing streak for the fourth straight session.

Strong selling pressure overshadowed demand for riskier assets, causing the VN-Index to finish lower. Accordingly, the index closed the trading day at 1,038.64 points, a decline of 5.06 points, or 0.48 per cent. 

The market's breadth, however, was positive as more stocks added points. Of which, 183 stocks advanced, while 142 went down. 

Trading value on the southern bourse fell strongly by 36 per cent over the previous session, over VNĐ6.7 trillion (US$284.75 million), equal to a trading volume of more than 395.7 million shares. 

The VN30-Index, tracking the 30 biggest stocks on HoSE, slid 5.47 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 1,034.93 points. Seventeen stocks of the VN30 basket decreased, of which one - Novaland (NVL) - posted the biggest intraday loss of 7 per cent, while 11 ticker symbols jumped. And two stocks stayed unchanged. 

Data compiled by financial website vietstock.vn showed that Vinhomes (VHM), BIDV (BID), and Vietcombank (VCB) were the top stocks influencing the index's bearish trend, down 3.72 per cent, 2.25 per cent, and 1.07 per cent, respectively. 

Losses of other stocks weighing on sentiment were Sabeco (SAB), down 2.03 per cent, Vietinbank (CTG), down 1.54 per cent, and VPBank (VPB) down 1.76 per cent. 

The index pared losses thanks to gains in some manufacturing and banking stocks, led by Hòa Phát Group (HPG), up nearly 2 per cent. 

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index reversed Monday's course to end higher on Tuesday. Specifically, the HNX-Index rose 0.37 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 204.86 points. 

During the session, more than 37.9 million shares were traded on the northern market, worth VNĐ564.23 billion. 

Foreign investors returned to net buy on the stock market with a net value of nearly VNĐ72 billion. Of which, they net bought VNĐ56.83 billion on HoSE, and VNĐ15.16 billion on HNX. VNS