A client withdraws money from an ATM machine of BIDV. The bank's shares plummeted more than 1.3 per cent on Friday, weighing on the market's trend. — VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Shares ended a turbulent week lower as investors remained cautious, while strong net selling from foreign investors also weighed on sentiment.

The VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) retreated from Thursday's strong recovery. It was down 6.02 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 1,183.37 points. The index jumped nearly 17 per cent on the previous session.

The breadth of the market was negative, with decliners outnumbering gainers on the southern bourse, while liquidity continued to improve.

The trading volume and value both increased by 4.9 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, over the previous session to over 893.3 million shares and VNĐ20.35 trillion.

Technically, the possibility for the VN-Index to extend the recovery in the short-term and head towards the target of 1,150 points is higher, creating new opportunities for the short-term investors to join the market, said Saigon - Hanoi Securities JSC.

According to MB Securities Company, the market is expected to establish a new equilibrium at around 1,130-1,140 points before reaching 1,280-1,320 area in the last months of the year.

The VN30-Index, tracking the 30 biggest stocks on HoSE, lost nearly 8 per cent, or 0.66 per cent, to 1,193.93 points. Twenty-three stocks in the VN30 basket inched down, while seven ticked up.

Data compiled by a financial website vietstock.vn showed that the real estate and banking stocks influenced the bearish trend. Vinhomes (VHM), in particular, was the biggest loser after posting a fall of 2.35 per cent.

It was followed by Vietcombank (VCB), BIDV (BID), Vietinbank (CTG), and Vingroup (VIC), down 0.92-1.89 per cent.

Also pressuring the market's benchmark, large-cap stocks, like Hòa Phát Group (HPG), VPBank (VPB), PV Gas (GAS), and Sacombank (STB), posted big falls of at least 1 per cent.

However, the index pared losses thanks to gains of some pillar stocks which were led by Đức Giang Chemicals Group (DGC) and Sabeco (SAB), up 6.26 per cent and 1.78 per cent, respectively.

The HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) closed Friday at 242.9 points, a decline of 0.33 per cent, or 0.14 per cent.

During the session, more than 98 million shares were traded on the northern exchange, worth VNĐ1.8 trillion.

Added to the bearish sentiment, foreign investors became net sellers today. They net sold up to VNĐ845 billion on HoSE, but net bought VNĐ10.33 billion on HNX. — VNS