Vietcombank's employee and a customer during a transaction in its office. The bank shares led the market's downtrend yesterday, down 1.34 per cent. Photo courtesy of Vietcombank

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s stock market finished lower on Friday as selling pressure strengthened in the afternoon session, affecting investors' sentiment. Meanwhile, foreign investors still fled the market. 

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index decreased by 7.17 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 1,344.89 points. The market’s breadth was negative with 269 stocks declining, while 137 stocks rose. 

However, the liquidity increased sharply as nearly 738.2 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth more than VNĐ23.3 trillion (US$1.02 billion).

The index fell as bank stocks faced a strong sell-off yesterday, weighing on the whole market. The VN30-Index lost 11.93 points, or 0.82 per cent, to 1,441.83 points. Nineteen of the 30 biggest stocks in the VN30 basket declined, while ten stocks rose and one ended flat. 

Many big bank stocks posted losses of more than 1 per cent in the last trading session of the week. Of which Vietcombank (VCB) fell the most in market capitalisation, down 1.34 per cent to VNĐ95,900 per share. VPBank (VPB), Vietinbank (CTG), Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB) and Sacombank (STB) reported losses of more than 2 per cent. 

Other big names in the sector including Techcombank (TCB), BIDV (BID) and MBBank (MBB) also plunged more than 1 per cent. 

Also adding to the pressure, some pillar stocks in real estate and manufacturing such as Vinhomes (VHM), Masan Group (MSN) and Saigon Beer - Alcohol - Beverage Corporation (SAB) recorded sharp falls in a range of 1.41 - 1.82 per cent. 

The rise in energy stocks was the bright spot yesterday as they still received support from higher oil prices and global recovering fuel demand. 

PetroVietnam Gas (PVGas, GAS) was the biggest gainer yesterday, up 6.7 per cent. PetroVietnam Power Corporation (POW) also climbed nearly 2.1 per cent, while PetroVietnam Drilling & Well Services Corporation (PVD) jumped 3.51 per cent. 

The HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) also edged down yesterday on strong selling force. The index dropped 0.24 per cent to 356.49 points. 

During the trading session, over VNĐ2.8 trillion was poured into the market, equivalent to a trading volume of nearly 129 million shares. 

On the other hand, foreign investors continued to be net sellers on HOSE as they net sold a value of VNĐ536.61 billion. However, they net bought a value of VNĐ123.18 million on the northern market. 

The fleeing of foreign investors was the downside of the market in the third quarter. 

Data compiled by ndh.vn showed that foreign investors bought nearly 2.38 billion shares, worth over VNĐ112.3 trillion, while selling more than 2.53 billion shares, worth nearly VNĐ122.2 trillion. Therefore, they net sold a total of 157.4 million shares last quarter, equivalent to a net sold value of VNĐ9.86 trillion. — VNS