Vietnam Airlines aircraft being serviced in Hà Nội. Shares of the national airline hit another low for two consecutive trading sessions, contributing to the significant market decline. — Photo courtesy of Vietnam Airlines

HÀ NỘI — Stocks were mixed on Wednesday as profit-taking after Tuesday's rally weighed on markets, while market liquidity reached a 17-session high.

The VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) finished the day at 1,268.66 points, down 12.52 points, or 0.98 per cent.

On the southern bourse, the breadth was negative as 299 stocks declined, while 56 increased and 21 ended flat. Liquidity hovered above VNĐ29.3 trillion (US$1.15 billion), an increase of 78.6 per cent from the previous session.

According to analysts from Saigon-Hanoi Securities (SHS), in the short term, market liquidity is improving but remains below average as investors await second-quarter business results.

The VN30-Index, which tracks the 30 largest stocks on HoSE by market capitalisation, increased slightly by 2.07 points or 0.16 per cent, to 1,305.37 points. The number of decliners surpassed gainers in the VN30 basket by 17 to nine, with four stocks ending flat.

Large-cap stocks in the technology and manufacturing sectors led the market's downturn, with many ticker symbols hitting the lower limit. For instance, Vietnam Rubber Group JSC (GVR) saw its shares hit the lower limit on Wednesday, decreasing by 6.94 per cent, contributing to a drop of more than 2.4 points in the VN-Index.

It was followed by Vietnam Airlines JSC (HVN), whose shares also hit the lower limit for the second consecutive session, decreasing by 6.88 per cent, contributing to a drop of more than one point in the VN-Index.

Other declining stocks on Wednesday included Masan Group Corporation (MSN), FPT Corporation (FPT), Vinhomes JSC (VHM), and Petrolimex (PLX), which fell within a range of 1.57 to 4.46 per cent.

The losses were limited thanks to strong gains in banking stocks, led by Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TCB). Shares of the lender increased by 4.41 per cent, contributing more than 1.8 points to the VN-Index.

It was followed by the Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MBB), which increased by 4.03 per cent, Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (CTG), which rose by 1.54 per cent, and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID), which increased by 1.8 per cent.

The Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) index also finished lower on Wednesday afternoon, declining by 1.77 per cent to 243.97 points.

During the session, more than VNĐ2.1 trillion worth of shares were traded, equivalent to a trading volume of over 107 million shares on the northern bourse.

Foreign investors ceased net selling on Wednesday, with this bloc net buying VNĐ523 billion. — VNS