VN-Index struggles to break 1,300 points

The index closed 9.7 points lower after dropping 4.4 points in the previous session.

Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange increased by 31% to VND23.27 trillion (US$940 million).

The VN-30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 22 tickers fell.

VHM of property giant Vinhomes plunged the steepest with a 4.1% loss, followed by POW of electricity producer Petrovietnam Power Corporation, down 2.7%.

VRE of retail real estate arm Vincom Retail closed 2.6% lower and TCB of private lender Techcombank dropped 2.2%.

Eight blue chips bucked the trend, led by VPB of private lender VPBank, up 1.5%, and SSB of SeABank, up 1.4%.

Foreign investors were net buyers to the tune of VND575 billion, mainly buying VPB of private lender VPBank and FPT of IT giant FPT Corporation.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, fell 0.72%, while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market went down 0.64%.

Asian shares retreated from a 32-month peak on Thursday as the sizzling rally in Hong Kong took a breather, while Japan's Nikkei jumped as the risk of further tightening in monetary policy this year faded, Reuters reported.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1% largely driven by a 1.6% drop in Hong Kong's Hang Seng index.