The index plunged 13 points in the first 45 minutes of trading but quickly returned to the starting point and went sideways in the 1,160 range before ending with a marginal 0.17-point gain.

It ended the week with four gaining sessions but was down 1.47 percent from Monday after plunging 18 points Thursday, when it entered the 1,190 range. This could show the investors’ lack of confidence that the index will return to the 1,200 peak it reached 2018.

Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, fell nearly 11 percent to VND14.99 trillion ($645.64 million). The bourse saw 264 stocks gain and 169 lose.

The VN30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks on the HoSE, saw 10 tickers gain, led by POW of electricity distributor PetroVietnam Power Corporation, up 6.7 percent, ending four consecutive losing sessions.

It was followed by STB of Ho Chi Minh City-based lender Sacombank, up 1.9 percent, and GAS of state-owned PetroVietnam Gas Jsc, up 1.8 percent.

GAS is now 1.2 percent away from reaching its January peak.

The seven remaining blue chip gainers saw marginal increases, with MSN of conglomerate Masan Group up 0.9 percent and MBB of Military Bank up 0.7 percent.

On the losing side, BVH of insurance company Bao Viet Holdings fell 1.7 percent, followed by VHM of real estate giant Vinhomes, down 1.6 percent, its fifth losing session in a row.

Foreign investors were net sellers for the 11th session in a row to the tune of VND1.34 trillion, highest in the last 14 sessions.

Strongest selling pressures were seen on POW, VNM of dairy giant Vinamilk and CTG of state-owned lender VietinBank.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, gained 1.58 percent, while the UPCoM-Index for stocks on the Unlisted Public Companies Market fell 0.77 percent.