At the FPT building in Hà Nội, shares of the FPT Corporation led the declines on Monday. — Photo courtesy of FPT

HÀ NỘI — The stock market began mid-October with a slight decline, as the VN-Index lost its four-day winning streak, although liquidity saw a significant improvement.

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index closed the session at 1,286.34 points, down by 2.05 points or 0.16 per cent.

Market breadth on the southern bourse was negative, with 185 stocks declining, 117 advancing and 60 remaining unchanged. Liquidity surged to VNĐ18.3 trillion (US$737 million), marking a 38.6 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 by 3.74 points, or 0.27 per cent, to close at 1,358.76 points. Within the VN30 basket, 19 stocks declined, eight advanced and three remained unchanged.

The market’s downturn was driven by large-cap stocks in the manufacturing sector, with the FPT Corporation (FPT) seeing the steepest decline, dropping by 1.43 per cent and contributing nearly 0.7 points to the VN-Index's overall decrease.

This was followed by losses from Hòa Phát Group (HPG), down 0.92 per cent and Vietnam Commercial Joint Stock Export Import Bank (EIB), which fell by 4.45 per cent.

However, market losses were offset by gains in some key stocks, led by Vinhomes JSC (VHM), which rose by 4.01 per cent, contributing nearly two points to the VN-Index.

Experts from the Việt Dragon Securities commented: "Liquidity increased compared to the previous session, indicating that profit-taking pressure remains high as the market approaches resistance levels. This cooling signal is expected to temporarily slow the market's rise. It is anticipated that the market will experience a supply-demand test in the 1,280-1,290 point range in the coming days before a clearer signal emerges.

"Therefore, investors should observe supply-demand dynamics to assess the market's condition. At present, priority should be given to stocks with strong cash flow signals from the support base, while taking advantage of the recovery to adjust portfolios and reduce risks."

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index also closed lower on Monday, dropping by 0.28 per cent to 230.72 points.

During the session, nearly VNĐ782 billion worth of shares were traded, with a total trading volume of over 43 million shares on the northern market.

Foreign investors extended their net selling streak, with net sales amounting to over VNĐ614 billion on the HoSE. — VNS