HÀ NỘI – The benchmark VN-Index ticked down 0.88 per cent to close at 775.73 points on Friday, stepping down from the 2008 peak recorded in the last trade session due to heavy profit-taking pressure.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index was down 1 per cent to end at 101.58 points.

Liquidity rose substantially with a total of 357 million shares worth almost VNĐ5.8 trillion (US$255.5 million) traded on the two markets, up 4.7 per cent in volume and 18.4 per cent in value compared with the previous session.

“Rising liquidity was mainly attributable to profit-taking selling of large-cap stocks, while expanding negative market breadth indicated profit taking is taking place in various groups of stocks,” analysts at BIDV Securities Co wrote in a report yesterday.

Only five of the top 30 largest shares by market capitalisation and liquidity on the main bourse in HCM City advanced and 24 declined, including banks, securities firms, energy companies and real estate developers.

Seven of nine listed banks on the two exchanges lost value, of which the two biggest listed lenders – Vietcombank (VCB) and BIDV (BID) – both slipped 1.7 per cent.

Industry-leading companies like Petrolimex (PLX), Vinamilk (VNM), VinGroup (VIC), steelmakers Hòa Phát Group (HPG) and Hoa Sen Group (HSG), DHG Pharmaceutical (DHG) and PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service (PVD) slumped between 0.9-2.2 per cent each.

The market has rallied substantially recently and a correction is understandable.

The VN-Index has gained 17 per cent since earlier this year and is among the best performers in the world, even surpassing neighbouring markets like Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia which have also reacted strongly to foreign capital.

In Việt Nam, foreign investors has poured a net VNĐ9.2 trillion (roughly $409 million) in the first half of this year, beating the record VNĐ8 trillion recorded in the first seven months of 2008, Viet Dragon Securities Co’s data showed.

Foreign traders were net sellers yesterday on the HCM Stock Exchange after an 18-day net buying streak, offloading shares worth VNĐ61.5 billion. They were also responsible for net sell value of VNĐ12 billion on the Hà Nội bourse.

“The market is in a correction stage around the range of 775-785 points in the medium term,” BIDV Securities Co’s analysts forecast but said the market would likely rebound and move around 780 points in the next sessions thanks to strong capital inflows. – VNS