The market inched lower at the end of Tuesday morning's session, paring gains in the early trade.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) fell slightly by 1.11 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 1,369.85 points. The index opened the morning session on a positive note, but selling pressure soon surged in many stock groups.

The market's breadth was negative with 227 stocks declining while 129 rose. The liquidity was similar to yesterday, as investors poured over VND16.2 trillion (US$710 million) into the market, equivalent to 496.3 million shares.

Selling pressure weighed on stocks in real estate, logistics, utilities and retail groups. Pillar stocks of these sectors all posted big falls, but rises in other large-cap stocks prevented too steep a drop.

The VN30-Index, tracking 30 biggest stocks on HoSE, still climbed 0.03 per cent to 1,501.17 points. Of the 30 biggest stocks in the VN30 basket, 20 stocks fell while only 10 stocks inched higher.

Vinhomes SJC (VHM) led the fall, down 2.76 per cent, while sharp increases of more than 1 per cent in Vingroup JSC (VIC), Vietcombank (VCB) and Hoa Phat Group (HPG) helped limit the downward trend.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index also slid 0.08 per cent to close the morning trade at 343.26 points. VNS