HANOI, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's Hanoi stock market started a downward trend this week following results of profit-taking activities by investors.
Compared to last Friday's closure, the HNX-Index, the benchmark of the Hanoi Stock Exchange, posted a decrease of 0.16 points or 0.18 percent on Friday.
The HNX-Index closed at 85.88 points on Friday, up 0.24 points or 0.28 percent against the previous trading session.
A total of over 48.889 million shares worth some 444.968 billion Vietnamese dong (some 19.95 million U.S. dollars) were traded at the Hanoi Stock Exchange on Friday, a decrease of 19.51 percent in volume and 21.73 percent in value against the previous trading session.
Prices of 94 stocks went up; 91 stocks fell down, while 79 stocks remained unchanged.
During the week, over 237.775 million shares worth over 2.312 trillion Vietnamese dong (around 103.68 million U.S. dollars) were traded on the Hanoi bourse.
This week, the HNX-Index experienced three ups and two downs from 86.43 points on Monday to 85.65 points on Thursday.
In comparison, in the previous trading week, the benchmark ranged between 84.97 points and 86.04 points.
This week, foreign investors have become net-buyers in the Hanoi Stock Exchange. From Monday to Friday, they bought some 6.815 million shares while selling 3.521 million shares.
In the previous week, the purchase volume of foreign investors was over 4.813 million shares in buying and some 3.787 million shares in selling.
Compared to the final trading session of 2016, the HNX-Index climbed 5.76 points or 7.19 percent.
According to analysts, the HNX-Index fell on Friday as most of the large-cap shares were pulled down by investors' selling.
However, not only large-cap stocks, but mid-cap and penny shares also underperformed as investors tried to book profits following the recent good run of these shares.
Insiders said the adjustment during the end-week session is a quite normal thing and urged local investors not to worry much as the upward trend is going to be clearer in the coming days.
Cash from profit-taking activities is retained in the market, reflecting from the alternate rise between stocks and the fact that liquidity continued to achieve impressive heights, said insiders.