Despite ending in the green, the benchmark VN-Index had hovered below its opening price for most of the session before a flurry of buy orders in the final hour of trading allowed it to close positively.

After gaining for six consecutive sessions, the VN-Index is expected to face increasing corrective pressure as it nears the 1,000-point psychological resistance level, a level it has failed to reach since November last year, brokerage BVSC said in their latest report.

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based, was predominantly red with 263 stocks losing and 169 gaining. Strong gains by individual stocks, including 13 that hit their ceiling prices, were able to offset losses in the general market.

Total trading volume reached its highest point this year, at VND12.64 trillion ($544.8 million), almost three times the average daily liquidity on the HoSE in 2019. Cash flow was split 50/50 between stocks on the VN30, a basket of the HoSE’s 30 largest caps, and those outside it.

The VN30-Index lost 0.04 percent this session, with 18 stocks losing and nine gaining.

Topping gains was SBT of agricultural exporter TTC-Sugar, which surged 5.7 percent, followed by VHM of real estate developer Vinhomes, with 4 percent, and SSI of brokerage Saigon Securities Inc., with 1.3 percent.

After being the worst performers on the VN30 the previous session, the banking sector saw mixed results, both among state-owned and private banks..

Of Vietnam’s three biggest state-owned lenders by assets, VCB of Vietcombank rose 0.9 percent, while BID of BIDV and CTG of VietinBank shed 1 percent and 0.5 percent respectively. MBB of mid-sized Military Bank added 0.8 percent.

In the private sector, VPB of VPBank was up 0.6 percent and TCB of Techcombank, up 0.2 percent, while EIB of Eximbank kept its opening price and HDB of HDBank and STB of Sacombank were down 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.

VIC of private conglomerate Vingroup, HoSE’s largest cap, added 0.2 percent, and VRE of its subsidiary Vincom Retail rose 0.9 percent.

Other than VHM, real estate companies were the worst performers this session, with TCH of Hoang Huy Group down 3.6 percent, KDH of Khang Dien House, 1.7 percent and NVL of Novaland, 0.3 percent; while ROS of FLC Faros kept its opening price.

Oil and gas stocks also fared poorly, with GAS of energy giant PetroVietnam Gas dropping 1.2 percent, PLX of petroleum distributor Petrolimex, down 1 percent, and POW of electricity generator PetroVietnam Power, down 0.5 percent.

Other major losing stocks included MSN of food conglomerate Masan Group, down 1.3 percent, MWG of electronics retailer Mobile World, 1.1 percent, and PNJ of jewelry retailer Phu Nhuan Jewelry, down 1 percent.

The HNX-Index for the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid- and small-caps, shed 0.40 percent, and the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Companies Market added 0.10 percent.

After seven consecutive weeks of net sells, foreign investors were net buyers of Vietnamese stocks for the fifth straight session to the tune of VND95 billion on all three bourses. The most net bought stocks were HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group, which kept its opening price, and VRE of Vincom Retail.