Investors watch stock movements on a laptop screen. The market’s strong performance is driven by high corporate earnings prospects for the fourth quarter of 2017. — Photo cafef.vn

Shares declined on the HCM Stock Exchange on Monday morning as investors looked for short-term profits when the VN Index reached an intraday high of 1.126,53 points.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange edged down 0. 41 per cent to close at 1,114.05 points. It ended last week at 1,050.11 points, posting a weekly gain of 3.7 per cent.

The minor HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange dropped 0.42 per cent to end at 127.36 points.

The northern market index finished Friday at 120.76 points and recorded a weekly growth of 1.5 per cent.

Nearly 229.8 million shares were traded on the two local exchanges, worth VND5.7 trillion (US$244.8 million).

Declining stocks outnumbered the gaining ones by 278 to 163, while 104 other stocks ended flat.

Large-cap stocks underperformed, as 17 of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation in the VN30 Index suffered, pulling the large-cap index down 0.35 per cent to 1,100.53 points.

Among the worst decliners were Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), down 1.2 per cent; Hoa Phat Group Joint Stock Company (HPG), declining 1.88 per cent; Masan Group Corporation (MSN), falling 3.18 per cent; and Viet Nam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (VNM), dipping 1.09 per cent; as well as Saigon Beer - Alcohol - Beverage Corporation (SAB), decreasing 1.75 per cent; and Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company (VJC), dropping 0.53 per cent.

The afternoon trade session starts at 1pm. — VNS