Shares opened the new week in positive territory on the Hanoi Stock Exchange on Oct. 31 but declined on the HCM Stock Exchange as the volume and value of trades on the southern bourse continued to sag.

In Hanoi , the HNX-Index rose by 0.39 percent over Oct. 28's close to conclude Oct. 31's session at 70.21 points. The volume of trades totalled nearly 60 million shares, worth over 658 billion VND (31.3 million USD), an increase of 17.7 percent in volume and 30.3 percent in value over Oct. 28's levels.

Advancers outnumbered decliners by 143-103, with "hot stocks" from PetroVietnam Construction (PVX), Kim Long Securities (KLS) and VNDirect Securities (VND) all rising. KLS, on a volume of over 9 million shares, became the most-active code in Hanoi , hitting its ceiling price.

As investor interest in shares on the Hanoi bourse perked up, the domestic gold price declined by around 500,000 VND (24 USD) per tael from Oct. 28's price. At the same time, the global price lost more than 20 USD per ounce (one tael is equivalent to 1.2 ounces). Meanwhile, the dong reached 21,400 VND per US dollar on the black market, while the interbank exchange rate remained at 20,803 VND.

On the HCM Stock Exchange, the VN-Index declined by 0.3 percent to close at 420.81 points, The value of trades decreased 17 percent from Oct. 28's total to just 580.6 billion VND (27.6 million USD), with 37.9 million shares changing hands. Losers outnumbered gainers by 135-84.

Among the 10 leading shares capitalisation, only food processor Masan Group (MSN) closed higher, gaining 1.6 percent to close at 127,000 VND (6 USD) per share.

Financial conglomerate Ocean Group (OGC) became the most-active share in HCM City , with 3.16 million traded, before it hit its ceiling price of 12,700 VND per share.

Foreign investors were net buyers on both bourses but by a net volume of only 12 billion VND (571,400 USD).

Shares of Military Bank, coded MBB, lists on the HCM City on Nov. 1. Military Bank was a leader on the over-the-counter (OTC) market and was expected to perform well, said StoxPlus analyst Le Huu Quan.

"This could be the biggest event on the Vietnamese stock market this year, absorbing vast interest from investors," said Quan.

In other news that could impact trading in the coming sessions, the Ministry of Planning and Investment indicated that the corporate income tax might be reduced to 20 percent in one or two years. Inflation was also forecast to increase in November by only about 0.2-0.3 percent over October.

"If this forecast is true, it will be a very positive development in the effort to meet an overall inflation target this year of 18 percent," said Quan./.