Shares declined on the HCM Stock Exchange on October 16 after rallying for six consecutive sessions as large-cap stocks lost steam on late profit-taking.

Investors follow transaction on the Hanoi Stock Exchange

The benchmark VN-Index fell 0.19 percent to close at 819.43 points, putting a dent in its previous six-day rally in which the benchmark increased nearly 2 percent.

Market trading liquidity rose in comparison with October 13's figures. Roughly 169 million shares were traded on the southern exchange, worth 4.06 trillion VND (180.5 million USD).

The figures represented an increase of 9.6 percent in trading volume and 21 percent in trading value compared with October 13.

The market breadth of the southern exchange was negative, with 149 declining shares against 128 gaining ones and 40 unchanged.

The VN30 Index, which tracks the performance of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation and trading liquidity, edged down 0.44 per cent as half the stocks suffered losses.

The 15 declining stocks in the VN30 basket fell between 0.2 per cent and 2.5 percent with the worst-performing stocks being property developer Vingroup (VIC), steel company Hoa Phat (HPG), Binh Minh Plastic Co (BMP) and logistics firm Gemadept (GMD).

Mid-cap and micro-cap stocks also underperformed. The mid-cap stock index was down 0.09 percent and the micro-cap dropped 0.13 percent, according to market data site vietstock.vn.

The benchmark VN Index went down when it was about to test the level of 824 points and the index could fall further in coming sessions, Bao Viet Securities Co’s analyst Tran Xuan Bach wrote in the company’s note. “Investors were more worried and cautious when the benchmark VN Index approached the range of 824-828 points, forcing them to offload more shares in the closing period,” Bach said.

The six-day rally was also an important factor in investor selling on the southern market, he added. “The VN-Index will face a short-term correction if investors cannot find a group of stocks that is attractive enough to lure investment into the market.”

In the next few days, the VN-Index could fall back to its near supportive ranges, which is forecast to be between 810 and 815 points or between 798 and 802 points, Bach added.

The HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange gained 0.18 percent to close at 109.30 points. It advanced 0.67 percent on  October 13.

More than 45.6 million shares were exchanged on the northern bourse, worth 536.5 billion VND.

VNA