Stocks close week barely changed

The index closed 2.95 points higher after dropping 4.94 points in the previous session.

Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange decreased by 35% to VND17.74 trillion ($731.62 million).

The VN-30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 13 tickers gained.

MSN of conglomerate Masan Group and MWG of electronics retail chain Mobile World both led with a 4.3% rise.

BID of state-owned lender BIDV went up 3.2% and VRE of retail real estate arm Vincom Retail rose 2.4%.

VJC of budget airline Vietjet fell 1.4% and STB of Ho Chi Minh City-based lender Sacombank closed 1.2% lower.

Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of VND450 billion, mainly selling VHM of property giant Vinhomes and TCB of the largest private lender Techcombank.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, fell 0.27%, while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market was unchanged.