The number of equities falling doubled those that gained, while volume by midday of 80 million shares neared the five-day average level of 95.5 million, Reuters data showed.

"Buying demand is yet active and confident," Vietcombank Securities said in a report to clients on Thursday. "We maintain a cautious recommendation for most investors."

Here is a snapshot of the VN Index  .VNI at midday (0431 GMT).

598.69

          PREV. CLOSE       

601.59

             % CHANGE       

-0.48%

                 HIGH       

602.02

                  LOW       

596.49

    Change (%) 1-mnth       

-1.690

    Change (%) 3-mnth        

0.604

    Change (%) 1-year       

20.181

         52-week high       

644.56     

3-Sep-14

         52-week low        

492.37    

15-Oct-13

Source: Reuters