Customers conduct transactions at a Vietinbank office. Shares of the lender fell more than 1.5 per cent on Tuesday, weighing on the market's sentiment. — Photo vietnamplus.vn

HÀ NỘI — The market traded differently on Tuesday after early gains faded amid stronger profit-taking pressure, with the VN-Index failing to hold above the key 1,780-point level as investors turned cautious near the market's major resistance zone.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HoSE) closed down 3.36 points, or 0.19 per cent, at 1,773.41 points, after climbing to nearly 1,790 points during the session.

On the HoSE, 162 stocks advanced while 155 declined.

Liquidity on the HoSE reached over VNĐ16 trillion (US$612.4 million), indicating that cash flow remained present even as investors became more cautious while the market approached a strong technical resistance level.

Selling pressure was most visible among large-cap stocks. Within the VN30 basket, only eight stocks finished higher, while 19 declined.

PV Gas (GAS) was the largest negative impact on the benchmark, shaving 1.17 points off the VN-Index. It was followed by Vietcombank (VCB), which reduced the index by 0.9 points, while Vietinbank (CTG) contributed another 0.83-point decline.

In contrast, mid-cap and small-cap stocks continued to display relative resilience.

The number of HoSE-listed stocks posting gains of at least 1 per cent remained at 78, unchanged from the morning session, indicating that buying interest remained concentrated outside the large-cap segment.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index rose by 3.23 points, or 1.12 per cent, to 290.91 points.

Foreign investors extended their selling streak, recording net sales of nearly VNĐ768.8 billion on HoSE. Net selling was concentrated in several heavyweight stocks, including Techcombank (TCB), Vinhomes (VHM), FPT Corporation (FPT), Vingroup (VIC) and Sahabank (SHB), adding pressure to the broader market.

The session broadly matched the outlook of analysts at Tien Phong Securities (TPS), who had warned that the recent rebound was not yet strong enough to reverse the prevailing market trend.

According to TPS, the VN-Index remains hesitant around its 200-day moving average (MA200), currently located near 1,773 points, a level widely regarded by technical analysts as an important indicator of the market's medium-term direction.

From a technical perspective, TPS noted that the benchmark index continues to exhibit a pattern of lower highs and lower lows that has persisted since May 2026, indicating that the broader downtrend has yet to be invalidated. — BIZHUB/VNS