The milk carton production line of Vinamilk in Bình Dương Province. VNM shares of this dairy producer led the decliners on Friday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The stock market registered its third consecutive decline on Friday, while liquidity dropped sharply and foreign investors returned to net selling.

The VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) closed the day at 1,270.6 points, down 7.5 points or 0.59 per cent, marking its third consecutive day of decline.

On the southern bourse, market breadth was negative, with 216 stocks declining, 94 advancing and 50 remaining unchanged. Liquidity plummeted to VNĐ13.7 trillion (US$552 million), marking a 40 per cent drop compared to the previous session.

The VN30-Index, which tracks the top 30 stocks by market capitalisation on the HoSE, also fell by 10.25 points or 0.76 per cent to close at 1,336.21 points. In the VN30 basket, 22 stocks declined, five advanced and three remained unchanged.

Leading the market’s downturn were large-cap stocks in the financial and manufacturing sectors, with the Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (VNM) posting the steepest decline in market capitalisation, dropping 2.56 per cent and contributing nearly 0.9 points to the VN-Index's overall decrease.

This was followed by the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank For Industry And Trade (CTG), which declined by 1.66 per cent, and the Vietnam Rubber Group - Joint Stock Company (GVR), which fell by 1.83 per cent.

However, the market's losses were mitigated by gains in some key stocks, led by PetroVietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation (GAS), which rose by 1.1 per cent, contributing over 0.4 points to the VN-Index.

Experts from the Việt Dragon Securities noted: "Liquidity declined compared to the previous session, indicating a cautious state between supply and demand. Despite this hesitation, the market once again dipped below the 1,290-point mark due to supply pressure from the psychological resistance zone at 1,300 points. This signal could increase the market's risk."

"It is expected that the market will continue to test supply and demand around the 1,290-point region before giving a clearer signal," the experts added. "Therefore, investors should slow down and observe market movements to reassess conditions. In the meantime, consider using this rebound to restructure portfolios to minimise risks."

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index also dropped by 0.29 per cent, closing at 232.67 points.

During the session, a total volume of nearly 54 million shares worth more than VNĐ1.1 trillion were traded on the northern bourse.

Foreign investors resumed their net selling trend, with net sales amounting to over VNĐ573 billion on the HoSE. — VNS