Many stocks that had reached their ceiling prices for up to 10 successive sessions started to decline during the two most recent sessions.

"Shares saw a correction on January 17 after a period of "hot" growth," analysts commented.

The VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange slid 1.82 percent to 456.76 points.

Trading value reached only 87.6 percent of the previous day's level, reaching 1.23 trillion VND (58.5 million USD), while trading volume remained virtually unchanged, fetching 96.3 million shares.

Purchasing power was not too sluggish, but profit-taking increased.

Of more than 260 listed stocks, 93 codes advanced while 40 others retreated and the remaining 163 closed unchanged.

The VN30, composed of the HCM Stock Exchange's 30 leading shares, also tumbled by 1.57 percent to 537.75 points.

Only four of these stocks managed to rally, including Da Nang Rubber Co (DRC) and property developers HCM City Infrastructure Investment (CII), Tan Tao (ITA) and Vingroup (VIC).

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index failed to keep gains it made earlier in the session, dropping 0.61 percent to 62.33 points.

Losers outnumbered gainers by 146-95.

Market value fell 11.8 percent to 754.25 billion VND (35.9 million USD) as 102.3 million shares changed hands.

Declining nearly 1.7 percent, the HNX30 - tracking the Hanoi bourse's largest shares by capitalisation and liquidity - hit 119.57 points.

Financial and banking shares listed on both exchanges lost value on Jan. 17, including Military Bank (MBB), PetroVietnam Finance (PVF), Eximbank (EIB), Vietcombank (VCB), Vietinbank (CTG) and Sai Gon - Hanoi Bank (SHB).

SHB was the most heavily traded code with nearly 19.2 million shares changing hands.

Foreign investors increased their net buys to 90.57 billion VND (4.3 million USD).-VNA