A panoramic view of PV GAS's Thị Vải LNG Terminal. Shares of the gas trading company led the decliners during the market's bearish session. — Photo Pvgas.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — The stock market concluded the second week of September in negative territory, marking a week where four out of five trading days ended in losses, while liquidity remained weak.

The VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) finished the day at 1,251.71 points, down 4.64 points, or 0.37 per cent.

On the southern bourse, market breadth was negative with 147 stocks declining, 142 advancing, and 67 remaining unchanged. Liquidity was recorded at VNĐ11.17 trillion (US$457 million), an 11 per cent increase compared to the previous session.

The VN30-Index, which tracks the top 30 stocks by market capitalisation on the HoSE, also dropped 3.31 points, or 0.26 per cent, to close at 1,294.3 points. In the VN30 basket, 18 stocks fell, 10 gained, and two remained unchanged.

Leading the market’s downturn were large-cap stocks in the financial and manufacturing sectors, with PetroVietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation (GAS) posting the steepest decline in market capitalisation, falling by 2.37 per cent, contributing nearly one point to the VN-Index's overall decrease.

It was followed by Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (VNM), which declined by 2.41 per cent and Masan Group Corporation (MSN), which dropped by 1.2 per cent.

However, losses were mitigated by gains in certain pillar stocks, led by the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (VCB), which rose by 0.45 per cent, contributing nearly 0.6 points to the VN-Index.

According to experts from Viet Dragon Securities it may be time to take some profits, if investors can. They advise: "The slight increase in liquidity was not significant, indicating that support from capital inflows remained weak even as the market attempted to recover. The current low demand signal could put further downward pressure on the market in the next session.

"The market is expected to fluctuate around the 1,250-point level to test support levels and investor sentiment. Investors should take a cautious approach, observe supply and demand dynamics and prioritise stocks with stable performance and recent capital inflows. It is advisable to consider taking short-term profits or restructuring portfolios to mitigate risks during any recovery.”

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index inched up by 0.22 per cent to close at 232.42 points.

During the session, shares worth more than VNĐ746 billion were traded, with a total trading volume of over 47 million shares on the northern bourse.

Foreign investors continued their selling spree, with net sales of more than VNĐ72 billion on the HoSE. — VNS