Techcombank's headquarters in Hà Nội. The bank's shares (TCB) led the list of top contributors to the VN-Index, growing 2.5 per cent yesterday. — VNS Photo Mai Hương

HÀ NỘI — The market refrained from a steeper decline on Tuesday, propped up by growing demand for bargains after the VN-Index breached the support threshold of 1,200 points.

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange, pessimism loomed over the market in the early afternoon session as the VN-Index dropped below the 1,200-point threshold. However, this downturn also prompted bargaining efforts, which helped lift the VN-Index.

The VN-Index decreased by nearly 0.1 per cent to close the day at 1,215.68 points. The benchmark index lost 4.7 per cent on Monday.

Liquidity fell slightly, as the total trading volume reached nearly 1.4 billion shares worth VNĐ30.3 trillion (US$1.2 billion), representing a drop of 7 per cent in volume and 10 per cent in value compared to Monday’s levels.

The market condition remained negative with 17 out of 25 sectors tracked by vietstock.vn losing value and only eight gaining.

The banking sector recovered with an average growth of 0.5 per cent, helping cushion the market.

Seven of the top 10 contributors to the VN-Index were banks, including Techcombank (TCB), BIDV (BID), Vietinbank (CTG), Military Bank (MBB), LienVietPostBank (LPB), Vietnam Prosperity Bank (VPB) and Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), with growth ranging from 0.8 per cent to 2.5 per cent.

A number of companies in the construction and real estate sectors also bounced back, such as Vinhomes (VHM) up 0.7 per cent, Khang Điền House Trading and Investment (KDH) up 1.1 per cent, Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu House Development (HDC) up 2.3 per cent and PC1 Group (PC1) up 1.8 per cent.

According to Viet Dragon Securities Co, the market could extend its decline into the next trading session and possibly enter a short-term oversold condition.

“The support zone of 1,180 - 1,200 points may help the market regain balance and assist in technical recovery,” analyst Phương Nguyễn wrote.

She suggested investors continue to be cautious about the negative developments of the market and maintain a safe portfolio allocation.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index declined by 0.4 per cent to end at 228,83 points. Liquidity continued to fall, reaching 138.5 million shares worth VNĐ2.7 trillion. These numbers represented a drop of 17 per cent in volume and 24 per cent in value against the previous session. — VNS