The HCM City stock market tread water on Thursday on greatly reduced trading, with the VN-Index closing up just 0.73 percent on the day to 512.33 points.
The value of trades totalled only VND1.56 trillion (US$84.3 million) on a modest volume of 35.45 million shares. Sacombank (STB) was the most-active share on the day, with 2.3 million.
In Ha Noi, the HNX-Index also rose slightly, adding 0.77 percent to end the session at 175.69. Daily value remained high, however, at over VND1 trillion ($55 million), on a volume of 29.2 million shares.
Viet Nam-Germany Steel Pipe Company (VGS) led the northern market, with over 5 million shares traded.
"The sudden turnaround on Wednesday shocked investors and made them think it was a trap, resulting in today’s more sober transactions," said Ha Noibroker Nguyen Duy Tan.
Profit-taking was limited, however, to stocks that had made significant gains during Wednesday’s session, said Tan, who estimated that some of Wednesday’s last-minute buyers may have made a 10-per-cent profit yesterday.
Quach Manh Hao from Thang Long Securities Company suggested that the market looked good for investors in the medium term.
Analysts at ACB Securities Company concurred, suggesting the current correction had already hit bottom and that the securities markets were now in a new phase in which the VN-Index would range up to 550 points.
Foreign investors became net sellers yesterday on the HCM City Stock Exchange, but by a meagre volume of just 452,280 shares, while they remained net buyers in Ha Noi by a margin of 141,100 shares.