A facility of PV Power (POW). POW slumped 0.9 per cent on Wednesday. — Photo PV Power

HÀ NỘI — Shares declined on the two national exchanges on Wednesday as large-cap stocks were hit by profit-taking after the market advanced for two consecutive sessions.

The benchmark VN-Index lost slightly 0.02 per cent to end at 1,121.99 points.

It had gained total 1.73 per cent in the previous two days.

Nearly 777 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth VNĐ19.3 trillion (US$794 million).

The market breadth was negative with 250 declining stocks, 219 gaining ones and 111 others ending flat.

The VN30 Index, which tracks the performance of 30 biggest stocks by market capitalisation and trading liquidity, rose 0.04 per cent to 1,115.94 points.

In the VN30 basket, 13 stocks declined while 13 stocks made gains, and four stayed flat.

Investors’ profit-taking was blamed for the decline of the stock market as it strongly hit large-cap stocks.

Among those large-caps declining, PV Power (POW) slumped 0.9 per cent. Sabeco (SAB) lost 1 per cent.

Wednesday witnessed a decline in shares on both national exchanges as profit-taking activities targeted large-cap stocks, following two consecutive sessions of market advancement. This pullback in the market can be attributed to investors capitalising on the recent gains by selling off their holdings in prominent and well-established companies, said vietstock.vn.

The profit-taking phenomenon occurs when investors decide to sell their shares to secure profits after a period of price appreciation. In this case, the market had experienced two consecutive sessions of upward movement, prompting some investors to take advantage of the opportunity and lock in their gains by selling their holdings in large-cap stocks.

"It is expected that the state of dispute and exploration around the MA line (200), 1,123 points, will continue in the near future, but temporarily the market is still likely to remain stable before there is a specific signal. The divergence will continue during this period of dispute and exploration," said Việt Dragon Securities Co.

"Therefore, investors should slow down and watch the supply and demand developments. For now, investors should prioritise stocks that have established an accumulation base and have shown positive movement recently. In the short term, however, investors should use the rally to take profits at good price levels or to restructure their portfolios."

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX Index lost 0.29 per cent to end at 230.60 points.

More than 62.6 million shares were traded on the northern market, worth VNĐ1.16 trillion.