HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s stock exchange ended mixed on Thursday as the benchmark VN-Index reversed course to finish lower while the HNX-Index continued its rally.

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index declined by 8.62 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 1,247.25 points. The index rose slightly 0.15 per cent in the morning trade. The market breadth was negative with 294 stocks dropping while 141 stocks climbed.

The market’s liquidity remained high as nearly 806.5 million shares were traded, worth over VNĐ20.6 trillion.

The index successfully tested the support territory of 1,225 – 1,232 points and rebounded at the end of Wednesday’s trade. The move is expected to help the index continue to rise and head toward the resistance zone of 1,275 – 1,300 points in the short-term, Bảo Việt Securities Company said in a daily report to customers.

“However, during this period, the market is likely to be dominated by some large-cap stocks, along with a strong division between groups of stocks,” the securities firm added.

April futures contracts expired yesterday and the event might have a huge impact on large-cap stocks in the VN30 basket.

The VN30-Index, which tracks the 30 biggest stocks in HoSE, fell 0.51 per cent to 1,284.2 points. Of the VN30 basket, 24 stocks declined while only five increased.

Stocks from banking, materials, utilities, information technology, retail, transportation and logistics posted poor performance on Thursday. Of which, top five stocks weighing the market were Vietcombank (VCB), JSC Bank For Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID), Investment And Industrial Development Corporation (BCM), Techcombank (TCB) and Vietnam Rubber Group JSC (GVR).

VCB posted the biggest loss in market capitalisation, down 1.22 per cent.

The losses were limited by gains in material stocks and real estate and construction sectors with Hòa Phát Group (HPG) leading the market’s rally, up 2.83 per cent, followed by Vingroup JSC (VIC), No Va Land Investment Group Corporation (NVL) and Vinhomes JSC (VHM).

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index, meanwhile, climbed 0.44 per cent to 296.12 points despite falls in big stocks. The HNX30-Index fell 0.64 per cent to 443.82 points on Thursday.

During the session, local investors poured over VNĐ3.2 trillion into the northern bourse, equivalent to a trading volume of 172 million shares.

Foreign investors still fled from both exchanges as they net sold a value of VNĐ829.47 billion on HoSE and a value of VNĐ13.25 billion on HNX. — VNS