Profit taking weighs down market

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) opened the session strongly fluctuating. The benchmark VN-Index jumped, but then weakened at the end, adding 5.45 points or 1.3 per cent to 427.71 points.

The market was up 5.89 points on Tuesday and soared 8.96 points Monday as the central bank issued signs of lowering interest rates in mid-September.

Decliners climbed to 77 stocks today, but 146 stocks climbed and 69 ended flat.

Blue-chips Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), FPT Corp. (FPT), Hoa Phat Group (HPG) and Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAG) ended lower, while Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corp. (REE) and Sacombank (STB) were unchanged.

Several small-cap stocks also ended lower, while micro-cap stocks largely fell.

In contrast, large-cap stocks still strongly advanced. Pillar stocks Masan Group (MSN), Vincom Corp. (VIC) hit the ceiling.

Tan Tao Investment Industry Corp. (ITA) jumped 4.4 per cent. Kinhbac City Development Share Holding Corp. (KBC) hit the ceiling for the sixth session.

Total volume was sound at 47.74 million shares, worth VND784.33 billion ($38.26 million). Put-through volume made up more than seven million shares worth VND117.44 billon ($8.7 million).

Saigon Securities Inc. (SSI) outperformed the market with 3.3 million shares matched, followed by REE, STB and real estate stocks Licogi 16 (LCG), Ocean Group (OGC), Hoang Quan Consulting-Trading-Service Real Estate Corp. (HQC).

The Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) was put under stronger selling pressures, with investors largely locking profits at major stocks like VnDirect Securities (VND), Kim Long Securities (KLS), PetroVietnam Construction (PVX), Vietnam Construction and Import-Export (VCG), Bao Viet Securities (BVS). Most those stocks were unchanged or just little climbed.

The benchmark HNX-Index added 0.63 points or 0.87 per cent to close at 73.19 points, after decliners outrunning advancers 127 to 119. Volume slightly fell to 66 million shares worth VND740.46 billion ($36.12 million).