Slumping blue chips dragged down the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange again, with the benchmark VN-Index losing 0.16 percent to end September 30 session at 598.80 points.

Heavyweight stocks like PV Gas (GAS), Masan Group (MSN), Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), Vietinbank (CTG), Vietcombank (VCB), Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) Phu My Fertiliser (DPM) and VinGroup (VIC) all declined.

VIC was sold heavily by foreign investors on September 30, but steady demand from the domestic sector helped cushion its fall. It closed 1 percent lower at 48,000 VND (2.27 USD) per share with nearly five million shares traded, including 2.5 million unloaded by foreigners.

Other blue chips had mixed results. The VN30 inched up 0.2 percent to 644.25 points on gains by 17 of the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity.

Market volume climbed 20 percent over the previous session, totaling nearly 154 million shares. However, the value of trades declined slightly to 2.734 trillion VND (130 million USD).

FLC Group (FLC) remained the most active code on the exchange with 23.4 million shares exchanged, jumping 4.5 percent to close at 11,700 VND (0.55 USD) a share.

By contrast, the HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange increased just 0.07 percent to end at 88.63 points thanks to a late rally by blue chips like Bao Viet Securities Co (BVS), Saigon-Hanoi Bank (SHB), Vinaconex (VCG) and Saigon-Hanoi Securites Co (SHS).

Liquidity improved, with trading volume rising 20 percent over September 29 to almost 74 million shares worth more than 1.2 trillion VND (57 million USD), up 35 percent compared with the value on that day.

FLC Joint Venture Global Investment Co (KLF) was the most active with over 11 million shares traded, rising 2.52 percent to close at 12,200 VND per share.

Analysts at SHB Securities Co said the market would continue accumulating value, as setting a new price level after a long rally was essential. In the short term, selling pressure was likely to be high, with investors unloading shares they bought when the market rallied.

Although they remained cautious on market prospects, analysts expected positive macro-economic indicators like improved GDP and expected interest rate cuts to support the market in the future.

Foreign investors remained net sellers in Ho Chi Minh City's market, unloading shares worth 111.2 billion VND (5.3 million USD), while they were net buyers on the Hanoi exchange with a net buy value of 5.7 billion VND (270,000 USD).-VNA