Shares rallied this morning on the HCM Stock Exchange after falling over three consecutive days, but both market volume and value remained sluggish on pessimistic investor sentiment.

The slow increase in the inflation rate in October in Hanoi and HCM City supported the psychology of sellers to a certain degree but buyers seemed inert with such information, thus they had hesitated to spend, driving down the market volume, said stock analyst with financial website vietstock Nguyen Viet Vinh.

“They can’t find any reason to buy while the market outlook is not bright in the shorterm,” Vinh wrote in Oct. 20’s report.

The VN-Index closed at 403.73 points, a rise of 0.64 percent over on Oct. 19, thanks to recovery of several blue chips. Food processor Masan Group (MSN) hit its ceiling price while dairy producer Vinamilk (VNM), Vietinbank (CTG) and Phu My Fertiliser (DPM) all gained less than 1 percent.

Gainers edged losers by 109-90.

Trading volume decreased 23 percent to just 18.6 million shares, but value of Oct. 20's trades rose nearly 5 percent to 413.5 billion VND (19.7 million USD).

No codes saw trade in excess of 1 million shares. Becamex Infrastructure Development (IJC), with nearly 750,000 shares changing hands, became the most active code on the HCM City bourse today, but it declined another 2.1 percent to close at 9,400 VND (0.45 USD).

Meanwhile, shares retreated on the Hanoi Stock Exchange on Oct. 20 after a slight rise on Oct. 19, with the HNX-Index losing 0.31 percent over onto close at 67.72 points.

Both market volume and value fell 25 percent, totalling just 19 million shares, worth 193.6 billion VND (9.2 million USD).

Decliners inched up advancers by 116-107, with Kim Long Securities Co (KLS) remaining the most heavily traded stock nationwide with 1.86 million shares changing hands./.