HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam's market managed to finish Wednesday on a positive note, but liquidity dropped significantly and foreign investors returned to selling.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index increased slightly by 2.91 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 1,654.89 points.

The benchmark index saw a strong rebound in the previous session, raising hopes that investor confidence would remain high.

After a strong open for the VN-Index, which was buoyed by the previous day's performance, it quickly reversed course, entering a narrow trading range amid decreased liquidity as investor sentiment shifted back to caution.

However, the market breadth of the southern bourse fell into the negative territory, with 190 ticker symbols increasing while 121 stocks declined. Liquidity also dipped to VNĐ20.2 trillion (US$767.4 million).

Meanwhile, the VN30-Index, which tracks the 30 biggest stocks on the HoSE, decreased by 11.24 points or 0.59 per cent to 1,886.47 points. In the VN30 basket, 18 stocks ticked down while 12 finished higher.

The index managed to maintain a slight gain, primarily supported by heavyweight stocks such as Vingroup (VIC), Vietinbank (CTG), Vietcombank (VCB), BIDV (BID) and the oil and gas sector.

In particular, VIC shares were the largest contributor to the gains, up 2.74 per cent, followed by CTG and PV Gas (GAS), up 2.7 per cent and 4.13 per cent, respectively.

Despite these gains, the market faced headwinds from several declining stocks. Techcombank (TCB) was the most significant detractor, losing 1.43 points as it fell 2.57 per cent, marking it as the worst performer in the banking sector.

Other notable losers included FPT Corporation (FPT) and Vincom Retail (VRE).

The real estate sector, which had previously seen a robust performance, also showed signs of fatigue, with only a handful of stocks rising significantly.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index also fluctuated within a tight range before gaining traction late in the session. It closed up 0.79 points, or 0.30 per cent, at 266.70, with 62 advancers and 82 decliners.

As investors remain cautious, the market will need stronger signals to regain momentum and approach previous highs.

Foreign investors were net sellers today after net selling nearly VNĐ 806.1 billion on HoSE. — BIZHUB/VNS