VIETNAM, July 12 - HÀ NỘI — Soaring selling pressure continued to weigh on the market, causing benchmark indices to close the week lower while foreign investors backed into the net selling trend.

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index declined 3.05 points, or 0.24 per cent, to close at 1,280.75 points. This marked its third straight session of falls.

The market's strong psychological resistance around the 1300-point level is evident. This resistance zone has proven challenging in the past and it remains a formidable barrier.

The number of decliners outnumbered that of gainers on the southern exchange, while liquidity extended losses. The value dropped by nearly 18 per cent from the previous trade to VNĐ15.2 trillion (US$600.2 million).

Selling pressure mounted as the market neared previous highs, which is a common occurrence.

Large-cap stocks continued to face corrections, with the VN30-Index down 4.41 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 1,301,81 points.

In the VN30 basket, 16 stocks slid while nine edged higher and five stayed unchanged.

Banking and manufacturing stocks led the downtrend of which Vietcombank posted the biggest decline. Shares of the lender fell 0.57 per cent to close Friday at VNĐ87,600 per share.

They were followed by Hoà Phát Group (HPG), Masan Group (MSN), BIDV (BID) and Vietinbank (CTG). All the stocks decreased in a range of 0.43-1.21 per cent.

Cushioning the losses, some stocks showed positive performances, led by Vietnam Rubber Group (GVR). The rubber producer’s shares finished the week with a gain of 2.6 per cent.

Vingroup (VIC), FPT Corporation (FPT), Vietjet Aviation (VJC) also increased 1.58 per cent, 0.6 per cent and 0.99 per cent, respectively.

The HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) also dipped 0.37 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 245.02 points.

Over 54.2 million shares were traded on the HNX, worth VNĐ1.1 trillion.

Meanwhile, foreign investors were net sellers as they net sold a VNĐ761.93 billion worth of shares on the southern bourse. They snapped the long net-selling streak on Thursday.

While foreign investors' selling activities may contribute to the resistance, the primary factor is the selling pressure from domestic investors. Of particular concern is the weak inflow of funds into blue-chip stocks, leading to unstable price increases that are often short-lived, even for stocks like VCB and FPT. Consequently, the VN-Index lacks a sustainable driving force for sustained growth. — VNS