HÀ NỘI — The local stock market saw a narrow range of corrections on Thursday on the two exchanges, as investors increased sales on fears of a steeper fall.

The benchmark VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange sank for the first time in the past four days, down 0.1 per cent to close at 716.9 points.

The southern market index gained 1.3 per cent in the past three days and has climbed 7.8 per cent this year.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index decreased for a second day, down 0.4 per cent to end at 86.3 points. It edged down 0.3 per cent on Wednesday.

“The market is performed negatively today, with rising selling pressure at low-price range,” Trần Đức Anh, a stock analyst at Bảo Việt Securities Co wrote in a Thursday report.

The market breadth was pessimistic, with 258 stocks declining, 192 rising and 244 remaining unchanged on the two exchanges.

Growth of large-cap stocks--like Sabeco (SAB), PV Gas (GAS), lender BIDV (BID), FPT Corp (FPT)--cushioned the market fall.

“After a long rally, the market will experience short-term corrections to relieve sales pressure and to help valuations rise again,” Anh said.

Property stocks were mixed. Some maintained rises, including FLC Group (FLC), up 6.4 per cent; Đất Xanh Real Estate Service & Construction (DXG), up 1.2 per cent; and Từ Liêm Urban Development (NTL), up 1.5 per cent.

However, some stocks fell, including Novaland Investment (NVL), VinGroup (VIC) and Kinh Bắc City Development (KBC).

Investments are pouring into garment stocks and lifting prices.

Thành Công Textile Garment Investment Trading (TCM) hit the daily limit of 7 per cent on the HCM City’s bourse while TNG Investment and Trading (TNG) and Phú Thịnh – Nhà Bè Garment (NPS) climbed 3.1 per cent and 4.4 per cent, respectively.

According to many securities companies, investments are channeling to different stocks to seek new opportunities.

Liquidity remained high, with a total of 272.4 million shares worth a combined VNĐ4.2 trillion (US$184.2 million) traded in the two markets.

Foreign investors continued to offload local shares on the HCM Stock Exchange, extending net sales value to VNĐ45 billion in the past two days. They remained net buyers in Hà Nội’s market for a small value of nearly VNĐ3 billion. — VNS