Blue chips recovered on October 17 but a steep fall in PV Gas (GAS), the biggest stock on the market in terms of market value, dragged down the VN-Index by 0.32 percent to close at 585.28 points.

GAS lost 3 percent to end at 100,000 VND (4.74 USD) per share.

Most of the VN30 (top 30 shares by market value and liquidity) stocks rallied, pushing the VN30 Index up 0.16 percent to stand at 624.77 points.

Liquidity dropped as both market volume and value declined 20 percent compared with the previous session, totaling 130.5 million shares worth 2.525 trillion VND (119.7 million USD).

Real estate shares continued to draw most of the investments with the sector accounting for the three most active stocks.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index rebounded in last minute thanks to increased buying from the domestic sector.

The Index rose 0.5 percent to close at 87.64 points and the late purchases lifted the market volume to 85.2 million shares worth 1.187 trillion VND (56.3 million USD).

Foreign investors continued to unload local shares on both exchanges, increasing their net sales value to 395.4 billion VND (18.7 million USD), their biggest one-day selling since last July.

Analysts with the Investment Vietnam Securities Company say the VN-Index retreated to below the support level of 590 points and the sales by foreign investors could further dampen confidence of the domestic investors.

They predict the market would test the level of 580 points before rebounding and suggest investors take due caution before deciding to use leverages.-VNA