A trader talks to a customer at SSI. The securities firm's shares dipped over 2.9 per cent on Friday, weighing on the market sentiment. — Photo ssi.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese stock market closed lower on Friday, as a wave of short-term profit-taking spread, particularly among large-cap stocks.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index declined by 7.31 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 1,495.21 points. This marked its second consecutive session of losses. The benchmark hit the session low at 1,486.59 points earlier in the session. 

The market's breadth was negative, with 180 stocks decreasing and 141 ticking up. Liquidity was also lower than the previous trade, but remained high at over VNĐ39 trillion (US$1.5 billion). 

The VN30-Index, tracking the 30 biggest stocks in terms of market cap on the southern bourse, also fell slightly by 1.12 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 1,614.11 points. Ten stocks edged up, while 15 went down and five ended flat. 

The banking sector witnessed a mixed performance, with more stocks declining. Notable declines were seen in Vietinbank (CTG), down 3.49 per cent, Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB) down 3.42 per cent and Eximbank (EIB) down 2.96 per cent. 

Conversely, some stocks managed to rise, such as HDBank (HDB) increasing by 2.08 per cent and Sahabank (SHB) by 1.16 per cent.

The securities sector faced significant profit-taking pressure after several sessions of strong gains, with stocks like SSI Securitites Corporation (SSI) down 2.92 per cent, VNDirect Securitites Corporation (VND) down 2.2 per cent and VIX Securitites JSC (VIX) dropping 3.66 per cent. 

The real estate sector continued to struggle, with Vingroup (VIC) declining by 1.42 per cent and Vinhomes (VHM) by 0.11 per cent. Nonetheless, a few stocks broke through with substantial gains, such as Novaland (NVL) rising by 3.6 per cent and Ba Ria - Vung Tau House Development JSC (HDC) by 2.29 per cent. 

The market pared losses on gains of some pillar stocks, led by FPT Corporation (FPT). Shares of the company soared 2.9 per cent today. 

On July 31, FPT Corporation announced that Hoàng Nam Tiến, a founding member of FPT Corporation, vice chairman of the FPT University Council, former chairman of FPT Telecom and former chairman of FPT Software, passed away at the age of 57. 

The HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) was also weighed down by a rising selling force. The index closed the week at 264.93 points, down 1.41 points, or 0.53 per cent. 

Continuing to pressure the market, foreign investors net sold a significant amount of nearly VNĐ2.3 trillion on HoSE. They also net sold more than VNĐ159.27 billion on HNX.

Experts said that the market is showing signs of corrections following a strong rally, with widespread profit-taking across various sectors. While liquidity remains high, clear differentiation is evident, especially among leading stocks.

With foreign investors heavily net selling, domestic investors are advised to be cautious in their short-term trading decisions. — BIZHUB/VNS