Shares declined on the HCM Stock Exchange on October 18 as investors looked for short-term profits when the VN Index reached the intraday high of 831 points.

An investor monitors stock prices at Tan Viet Securities Company

Nearly 199 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth 4.76 trillion VND (211.8 million USD).

October 18's trading figures were up 12.2 per cent in volume and 21.7 percent in value compared to the previous session.

Market breadth became quite negative with 166 declining stocks against 105 gaining ones, while 45 stocks ended flat.

Large-cap stocks performed badly, with 18 of the 30 top companies by market capitalisation and trading liquidity in the VN30 basket ending lower than they started. The VN30 Index fell 0.20 percent to 816.84 points.

Banks, property developers, brokerage firms and steel producers saw their share prices decline after they had performed well to lift the stock market on October 17.

Among the seven listed banks on the southern market, MBBank (MBB), Vietcombank (VCB), Sacombank (STB) and Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID) were decliners.

VCB lost 0.7 percent and BID edged down 0.5 percent. VCB jumped nearly 5 percent on October 17 while BID rose a total of 6.7 percent in the previous three sessions.

On the opposite side, the VN Index avoided a slump as shares of FLC Faros Construction Corp (ROS) hit its daily rising limit rate of 6.9 per cent and consumer goods producers such as brewer Sabeco (SAB) and food and beverage company Masan (MSN) kept growing.

The VN Index struggled with rising pressure from profit-takers, which was triggered when the benchmark touched the level of 831 points, according to Sài Gòn-Hà Nội Securities Co (SHS).

However, the pressure was not high enough to push the benchmark into a slump, the Hanoi-based securities firm wrote in its daily report.

“The positive thing on October 18 was the rising liquidity, which proved investor confidence remained good and it was expected to keep supporting the market in next sessions.”

On October 19, the VN Index could fluctuate between 822 and 831 points, SHS said, adding that it would need a strong boost to clarify its trend in the near future.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX Index was down 0.38 percent to close at 109.43 points, ending a three-day increase of 1.3 percent.

More than 53.5 million shares were traded on the northern market, worth nearly 990 billion VND.

VNS/VNA