On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index slid 0.23 percent to close at 499.46 points.

The value of trades surged 61 percent over August 9, totalling 913.3 billion VND (43.5 million USD), thanks to a rise in transactions through negotiations which accounted for 70 percent of total market value at 628.3 billion VND (30 million USD).

Negotiated trading focused on blue chips including Masan Group (MSN) with a value of over 300 billion VND (14.3 million USD), Vinamilk (VNM) worth 52 billion VND (2.5 million USD) and VinGroup (VIC) worth 20.8 billion VND (990,500 USD).

Most blue chips fell, however, with the VN30 tracking the top 30 shares by market capitalisation and liquidity down 0.4 percent at 550.07 points.

Among the VN30 codes, only two shares posted gains, including confectionery maker Kinh Do Corp (KDC) and PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services (PVD) with gains from 2.7-3.8 percent.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index also slid 0.41 percent to a close at 61.44 points.

Trading remained tepid with market volume and value decreasing slightly from August 9's level, totalling nearly 16 million shares worth 124 billion VND (5.9 million USD).

Trading by foreign investors was mixed on both exchanges. While they were net buyers with a modest value of 3.77 billion VND (179,500 USD) on the HCM City market, they concluded as net sellers with a value of 6.11 billion VND (291,000 USD) on the Hanoi market.-VNA