Shares of the budget airline Vietjet (VJC) topped foreign buys with a net value of VNĐ356.4 billion on Monday. — Photo vietjetair.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — Strong buys by foreign investors helped rescue the VN-Index from a fall on Monday when the index was traded below the reference threshold for most of the trading time.

Ending the session, the VN-Index closed unchanged at 974.12 points on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange. The southern market lost 1 per cent last week.

A total of 155.3 million shares worth VNĐ3.8 trillion (US$163 million) were traded on the bourse.

The market breadth was negative with 196 shares declining, 111 rising and 61 closing flat.

Large caps dragged the market down, with half of the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity falling and only nine advanced.

Tough buys by foreign traders cushioned the market with their net buy value in HCM City’s market reaching VNĐ361 billion ($15.5 million) out of total VNĐ363 billion value, up 18.6 per cent over Friday’s number.

They were net sellers for a fourth session on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange for a value of VNĐ8.8 billion but net buyers on the Unlisted Public Company Market for nearly VNĐ11 billion.

Shares of the budget airline Vietjet (VJC) topped their buys with net value of VNĐ356.4 billion, far exceeding the Vietnam Electrical Equipment Corp (GEX) with value of just VNĐ16 billion.

VJC was also the biggest gainer among the VN30, rising 1.84 per cent to VNĐ132,800 ($5.70) per share.

On the other end of spectrum, shares of industrial zone developers slumped, of which Vietnam Rubber Industrial Zone and Urban Development (VRG), Sonadezi Long Thành (SZL) and Industrial Urban Development JSC No 2 (D2D) plunged by 7 per cent, the daily maximum loss on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange.

Other firms such as Sonadezi Châu Đức (SZC), Sonadezi Corp (SNZ) and Nam Tân Uyên Co (NTC) decreased between 5-6 per cent each.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index inched down 0.06 per cent to 100.85 points with 16 million shares worth VNĐ196.2 billion exchanged.

According to Bảo Việt Securities Co (BVSC), the market may move sideways with alternative ups and downs with a wide divergence among stock groups.

“Investors remain cautious and await the market’s reaction to upcoming events, including the review session of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Fed meeting and the results of FTSE classification review,” said Trần Xuân Bách, BVSC’s stock analyst. — VNS