With 117 stocks falling, 66 rising and 84 staying unchanged on the HCM Stock Exchange, the benchmark VN-Index inched down by 0.02 per cent to stand at 557.37 points. — Photo thanhnien

HA NOI (VNS) — Trading continued to be sluggish this morning, restraining the market below the neutral level, despite the blue chips recovering slightly.

With 117 stocks falling, 66 rising and 84 staying unchanged on the HCM Stock Exchange, the benchmark VN-Index inched down by 0.02 per cent to stand at 557.37 points.

The VN30, which tracks the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity, increased by 0.08 per cent to close the morning at 585.93 points, thanks to the modest gains made by large-cap shares such as Military Bank (MBB), Eximbank (EIB), Sacombank (STB) and Kinh Do Corp (KDC).

Liquidity improved slightly, with 53.3 million shares worth VND792 billion (US$37 million) being traded by the end of the morning.

Ocean Group (OGC) was the leading stock here, with 6.6 million of its share being traded. But its price tumbled 3.64 per cent to end at VND5,300 per share.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index recouped 0.15 per cent to finish at 82.68 points.

The trading volume was a low 22 million shares worth VND260 billion ($12.1 million).

The afternoon session will begin at 1pm. — VNS