Shares continued to decline on the HCM Stock Exchange on Oct. 5, with the VN-Index losing another 0.23 percent to finish the session at 417.21 points, even as advancing shares outnumbered decliners by 135 to 81.

Gainers were mostly focused in mid-cap and penny stocks, with Post and Telecommunications Investment and Construction (PTC), Lao Cai Mineral Exploitation & Processing (LCM), Binh Dinh Minerals (BMC) and Dong A Plastic Group (DAG) all soaring to their ceiling prices.

However, blue chips stumbled, dragging down the Index, with six of the 10 leading shares by capitalisation declining. Vietinbank (CTG) closed down 2.9 percent, and Vincom (VIC) lost 2 percent following the announcement of a merger with VinpearlLand (VPL), which hit its ceiling price. Insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) and food processor Masan Group (MSN) also closed off.

Becamex Infrastructure Development (IJC) was the most-active share, with 5.6 million changing hands before concluding the session down by 4 percent.

The overall value of trades rose by 23 percent over Oct. 4's level, reaching 596 billion VND (28.6 million USD) on a volume of nearly 38 million shares.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index lost value in the final minutes of trading, closing at 70.34 points, a loss of 1.17 percent. Value remained sluggish at 340.4 billion VND (16.4 million USD), with about 33 million shares traded.

VNDSecurities (VND) was the most-active share with 2.67 million changing hands. VND closed up 1.8 percent to 11,200 VND per share.

Foreign investors were net sellers on both exchanges by a combined margin of 49 billion VND (2.3 million USD)./.