HANOI, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The HNX-Index, the benchmark of the northern Hanoi Stock Exchange, fell for the third consecutive week to 105.39 points on Friday from last week's closure of 105.79 points.
Stocks experienced alternate ups and downs this week. The index inched up 0.5 percent on Monday and 0.16 percent on Thursday as many sectors gained. However, the loss of such large-cap stocks as banking, securities, insurances and oil and gas pressured the market in other trading sessions, causing the overall decline.
This week, foreign investors were net sellers of nearly 142 billion U.S. dollars (6.2 million U.S. dollars) on the northern bourse, with buying volume soaring on Monday and Wednesday. Their behavior contributed a driving momentum to save the market from a further decline.
According to local securities companies, the unpredictability of the world's economic and political developments may remain a threat to investors' sentiment, which may trigger net selling across the board.
The market will be diverged wildly among stock groups and may experience volatility and correction pressure in the next sessions, said local analysts. Cash flow is expected to rotate among several groups, including bank, oil and gas, real estate, industrial zone, textile, retails, and telecommunications.
Investors are advised to consider carefully before buying and only buy stocks at their support zone in the market's correction. Stock exposure can be raised to 50-60 percent of portfolio.
The index closed at 105.39 points on Friday, down 0.91 points or 0.86 percent from the previous trading session.
Compared to last week's closure, the index was down 0.4 points or 0.4 percent.
During the week, the index saw two ups and three downs, posting the highest level of 106.31 points on Monday and the lowest level of 105.39 points on Friday.
Nearly 32.4 million shares worth over 426.5 billion Vietnamese dong (18.5 million U.S. dollars) were traded at the Hanoi Stock Exchange on Friday, an increase of 5.8 percent in volume but a decrease of 2.2 percent in value against the previous trading session.
