A Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank transaction office in Hà Nội. MBB shares of the lender gained on Thursday, helping prevent the VN-Index from falling further. — Photo Mbbank.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s stock market remained largely flat on Thursday, with the VN-Index struggling to maintain momentum around the 1,370-point mark. Liquidity declined slightly from the previous session, while foreign investors resumed net selling after a brief pause.

The session opened on a positive note, with the VN-Index approaching the 1,370-point level in early trading. However, rising selling pressure towards the end of the morning session pushed the index into negative territory by the close.

At the end of the trading day, the VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) dropped 1.08 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 1,365.67 points.

Market breadth tilted slightly towards the downside, with 155 stocks declining compared to 141 gainers. Total trading value fell by 11.57 per cent from the previous session, reaching approximately VNĐ19.1 trillion (equivalent to US$731 million).

Vingroup placed notable pressure on the market, with Vinhomes JSC (VHM) and Vingroup Joint Stock Company (VIC) declining by 2.44 per cent and 0.84 per cent, respectively, erasing over 2.5 points from the VN-Index.

On the upside, a few large-cap stocks showed positive movement, including Masan Group (MSN) rising 2.42 per cent, PetroVietnam Gas (GAS) up 1.48 per cent and Military Bank (MBB) gaining 1.17 per cent, which helped cushion the index’s losses.

The market’s sideways movement amid a lack of strong capital inflows suggests that investors are adopting a cautious stance. Technical analysts at Viet Dragon Securities observed that the VN-Index is being held back by the resistance zone around 1,370 points. The appearance of a star-shaped candlestick pattern indicates a loss of upward momentum. They forecast that the market may continue to test supply and demand, with possible corrections in upcoming sessions.

A key piece of market-related news emerged on Thursday involving Trịnh Văn Quyết, former chairman of FLC Group, whose prison sentence was reduced from 21 years to seven years by an appellate court in Hà Nội. The ruling came after his family returned nearly $96 million to compensate investors, following allegations of stock manipulation involving approximately $146 million.

The case, which impacted around 25,000 investors, saw Quyết and his associates accused of creating fake buy orders over hundreds of sessions to inflate share prices before cancelling them. The incident is part of Việt Nam’s sweeping anti-corruption campaign and has had a notable impact on investor sentiment.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index edged up 0.04 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 227.7 points. The total trading value reached around VND 1.3 trillion, with more than 80 million shares exchanged. — VNS