HÀ NỘI — Shares retreated on Tuesday on the two national stock exchanges as strong selling forces increased during the session, weighing down many blue-chips.

Viet Nam’s benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange reached 1,000 points in the morning session but then reversed to fall 0.15 per cent in the afternoon session, ending Tuesday at 992.45 points, due to increased selling pressure.

The southern market index increased 1.47 per cent on Monday.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index lost 0.26 per cent to end the session at 108.24 points.

It gained 1.18 per cent on Monday.

A total of 356 million shares worth a combined VNĐ5.73 trillion (US$246 million) changed hands on the two bourses.

The VN30, which tracks the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, decreased 0.51 per cent to end at 923.66 points.

Shares gained in the morning because of the large purchasing power focused on banking-finance stocks such as Bank for Investment and Development (BID), Vietcombank (VCB), Vietinbank (CTG) and Bảo Việt Holdings (BVH).

In the afternoon, the gaining trend was lessened because buying power dropped on these stocks along with the strong selling pressure on large-cap codes like Mobile World Group (MWG), Việt Nam National Petroleum Group (PLX), Novaland (NVL), Vinhomes (VHM) and Vinamilk (VNM).

Two sectors leading the market in the morning session, banks and oil, tumbled significantly in the afternoon. Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), Tiền Phong Bank (TPB), Techcombank (TCB), PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service (PVD) and PetroVietnam Technical Services (PVS) all ended the session down.

Foreign investors today bought a net of VNĐ92.12 billion on HOSE, focusing on Vincom Retail (VRE) (VNĐ34.25 billion) and Hòa Phát Group (HPG) (VNĐ34.22 billion). In addition, they bought a net of VNĐ48.2 billion on HNX.

According to Bảo Việt Securities Company (BVSC), in the upcoming sessions, the market is forecast to rebound and enter the range of 1,000-1,008 points. The market may slowly enter this zone with a wide divergence among stock groups. This will support large-cap stocks. Bank stocks are going to gain while capital are expected in mid-cap, penny, and low-price stocks.

“With wide divergence among stock groups, we recommend investors not buy at high asking prices in the session. Investors should only buy stocks when the market experiences a correction or buy stocks that have yet to rally. Stock exposure should be limited at 50-60 per cent of the portfolio at present,” BVSC said. — VNS