Visitors at the Novaland Gallery in HCM City. Shares of the property developer soared to the ceiling price on Friday, supporting the market's recovery. — Photo vietnamplus.vn

HÀ NỘI — The market closed the week on a positive note, but gains were capped by low liquidity and foreign investors' net selling trend.

Despite experiencing fluctuations within a narrow range, rising demand late in the session helped the benchmark index increase slightly, propelled primarily by strong interest in the real estate sector.

Closing the day, the VN-Index on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HoSE) rose by 4.02 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 1,635.46 points.

Throughout the morning session, supply maintained a slight advantage, but it did not put significant pressure on the market. As a result, the VN-Index hovered around its reference point with limited fluctuation, amid a backdrop of cautious investor sentiment and reduced liquidity.

Market breadth on the southern bourse remained positive, with 153 stocks advancing and 138 declining. However, liquidity fell from the previous session to VNĐ20.8 trillion (US$790 million).

Similarly, the VN30-Index finished higher at 1,871.54 points, up 7.31 points, or 0.39 per cent.

Large-cap stocks remained relatively subdued, with many trading sideways without generating significant upward momentum. In particular, in the VN30 basket 11 ticker symbols rose, while 13 went down and six ended unchanged.

Mid-cap and small-cap stocks also did not see notable differences, except for Novaland (NVL), which emerged as a highlight by leading overall market liquidity.

The real estate sector was the pillar today, as substantial capital flowed into this area. NVL continued its upward trajectory, logging the biggest daily gain of 7 per cent. Other notable gainers included Hadoco (HDG), which rose by 4.6 per cent, TTC Land (SCR) at 3.1 per cent, DIC Group (DIG) at 2.2 per cent and Nam Long Group (NLG) at 1.9 per cent.

On the downside, Sacombank (STB) and Masan Group (MSN) both dropped by 1.3 per cent. Additional declines were seen in Vietinbank (CTG), Vinpearl (VPL) and Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB), all registering drops of less than 1 per cent.

Foreign investors continued their net selling streak, with a value of nearly VNĐ672.2 billion sold on HoSE. However, they net bought VNĐ44.4 billion on HNX.

According to experts, as the VN-Index approaches the 1,630-1,650 point resistance zone, profit-taking pressure is expected to rise. This area is crucial for assessing market liquidity and determining if the current movement is a sustainable reversal or merely a short-term bounce.

Should the downtrend resume, support levels around 1,490-1,510 points may trigger stronger demand. Investors should closely monitor market reactions over the next one to two sessions, particularly at the resistance range, for clearer recovery signals. — BIZHUB/VNS