Shares suffered strong correction on December 5 on the two stock exchanges after a three-week rally came under heavy profit-taking pressure.

An investor watches share prices on an electronic board at Bao Viet Securities Co.

The VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange slumped 1.72 percent to close at 953.30 points. Vietnam’s benchmark index climbed over 13.5 percent in the past month.

Large-cap stocks experienced the heaviest selling pressure with 26 of the top 30 largest stocks by market value and liquidity declining, while only three advanced.

FLC Faros Construction (ROS) was the biggest loser, down 6.3 percent.

Major shares with losses of over 2 percent included Vinamilk (VNM), lender BIDV (BID), Vietinbank (CTG), IT giant FPT Corp (FPT), Binh Minh Plastic (BMP) and Tien Phong Plastic (NTP).

Brewer Sabeco was also down 0.7 percent after strong rallies over the past two weeks following the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s announcement of selling a majority of stakes in the company.

On the positive side, PV Gas (GAS), the biggest listed energy company, was among few gainers, rising 1.6 percent to 82,700 VND (3.63 USD) per share. Confectionery Kido Group (KDC) was also up 2 percent and sugar maker Thanh Thanh Cong – Bien Hoa JSC (SBT) climbed 6.3 percent.

According to BIDV Securities Co, December 5’s downturn was a necessary correction in the context of the market climbing too fast. 

However, despite the index slump, liquidity continued to increase sharply, showing strong demand among investors.

About 265.5 million shares worth 7.34 trillion VND (322 million USD) were traded on the southern market, down 1.7 percent in trading volume but up 18 percent in trading value compared to the previous session.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index dropped by a steeper 2.98 percent to end at 113.23 points.

Nearly 83 million shares worth 1.14 trillion VND were traded on the northern bourse.

Tran Hai Yen, a stock analyst at Bao Viet Securities Co, said the bearish session on December 5 may have had a negative impact on the early session of December 6 but she believed this correction will be short-lived and the overall index will soon rebound.

Foreign investors were net buyers in HCM City’s market for a net value of 138.4 billion VND, but they were responsible for a small net sell value of 11 billion VND on the Hanoi exchange.-VNA