VN-Index, the benchmark index of the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, edged down from last week's closure of 901.54 points to close at 888.97 points on Friday.

The index posted two ups and three downs this week. It experienced a major losing session on Monday, with shares sinking 13.29 points, or 1.47 percent, as large-cap stocks were hit by massive selling pressure.

The VN-Index edged up 0.21 percent to 890.14 points Tuesday, with retail blue chips being some of the best performers.

Shares ended lower on Wednesday as selling pressure pushed large-cap stocks down, but bottom purchase demand increased towards the end of trading, helping narrow the market's decline. The benchmark lost 0.09 percent to close Wednesday at 889.32 points. Market breadth was neutral with 185 decliners and 202 gainers.

Shares cut early gains on Thursday with the market experiencing strong volatility with big variation in large-caps' prices. The benchmark edged down 0.06 percent to close Thursday at 888.82 points.

It wrapped up week, however, on a positive note with a gain of 0.15 points, or 0.02 percent, on Friday.

An average of over 348.7 million shares were traded per day on the southern bourse, up 0.6 percent against last week. Trading value totaled 36.3 trillion Vietnamese dong (nearly 1.6 billion U.S. dollars), up 35.9 percent.

This week, foreign investors became net buyers of nearly 3.9 trillion Vietnamese dong (169.3 million U.S. dollars).

The VN-Index is forecast to move sideways with alternative ups and downs between support 880-885 points and resistance 895-905 points in several upcoming sessions, said local experts, who maintain a positive outlook on market movement in the short term.

Market's corrections are necessary for several stock sectors to cool down and accumulate for their impulsiveness and could possibly offer opportunities for investors to participate in the market at a reasonable price, said the securities experts, noting that stock sectors with macroeconomic benefits are expected to attract investors once revisiting fair prices.

Investors are advised to maintain their stock exposure at 50 percent of total investment. Those who already sold previously may consider reopening buying positions at support 880- 885 points while ones with high stock exposure should consider lowering short-term stock exposure at resistance 900-905 points, according to the analysts.

VN-Index closed at 888.97 points on Friday, up 0.15 points, or 0.02 percent, against the previous trading day, with some 309.9 million shares worth over 5.5 trillion Vietnamese dong (239.9 million U.S. dollars) changed hands on the southern bourse.

Specifically, foreign investors bought more than 21.4 million shares totaling 601 billion Vietnamese dong (26.1 million U.S. dollars), and sold roughly 32.9 million shares totaling 910 billion Vietnamese dong (39.6 million U.S. dollars).