A BIDV banking teller talks to a customer at its branch office in Đà Nẵng City. Shares of the lender fell 0.51 per cent on Wednesday, contributing to the market's correction. — Photo courtesy of the bank

HÀ NỘI — Markets were mixed on Wednesday, with the VN-Index undergoing a technical correction after a recent strong rally as profit-taking emerged among leading stocks.

The benchmark VN-Index on the HoChiMinh Stock Exchange (HoSE) fell 6.71 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 1,860.91 points. The session saw significant selling pressure towards the close, despite earlier gains of more than seven points during the day. The correction ended the index’s five-day rising streak.

Market breadth was neutral, with 158 stocks advancing against 155 declining. Meanwhile, liquidity continued to rise from the previous session, reaching more than VNĐ38.1 trillion (US$1.5 billion).

The VN30-Index, tracking the 30 largest stocks on HoSE, edged down 1.21 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 2,049.64 points. Within the VN30 basket, gainers outnumbered decliners, with 17 stocks rising and 13 falling.

The largest contributors to the VN-Index’s decline were two major real estate stocks, Vingroup (VIC) and Vinhomes (VHM).

Despite a rebound in the afternoon session, VIC closed down 3.01 per cent, while VHM fell 3.6 per cent, together accounting for a loss of around 11.2 points in the VN-Index.

Selling pressure was not confined to the real estate sector. Several other key stocks showed signs of fatigue as the session progressed. Vietcombank (VCB), which had risen by more than 1 per cent in the morning, narrowed its gains to 0.15 per cent by the close.

PV Gas (GAS) reversed sharply from a 3.08 per cent gain to a 0.45 per cent decline, while BIDV (BID) slipped 0.52 per cent. Hoa Phat Group (HPG), which led gains in the morning, ended up 3.53 per cent.

The decline was largely technical, with selling concentrated in previously overheated stocks in the real estate, banking, steel and technology sectors. There was no widespread panic selling and many mid-cap stocks retained positive momentum.

In contrast, the HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) extended its upward trend, closing at 1,913.37 points, up 0.51 point, or 0.19 per cent.

More than 81.8 million shares were traded on the northern bourse, worth over VNĐ1.9 trillion.

Foreign investors resumed net selling on HoSE, offloading more than VNĐ1 trillion worth of shares. — BIZHUB/VNS