The VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange added 0.25 per cent to close the morning session at 575.17 points. — Photo cafef.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Stocks opened lower, but improved towards the end of this morning on the two stock exchanges.

The VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange added 0.25 per cent to close the morning session at 575.17 points. Meanwhile, on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index also increased 0.25 per cent to end at 84.81 points.

Increases were mostly seen in small and mid-cap shares, while blue chips slumped.

The VN30, which tracks the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity in the HCM City market, decreased 0.44 per cent to stand at 603.94 points.

Investors turned cautious, following negative reports about the market outlook by several securities companies, leading to fall in liquidity.

More than 54.6 million shares, worth VND942.5 billion (US$44 million), were traded by the end of the morning on the two exchanges.

Only seven stocks saw trading of more than one million shares across the two boards.

FLC Group (FLC) was the leading stock in HCM City with the trading of 7.3 million of its shares, while its investment arm KLF Joint Venture Global Investment Co (KLF) was the most active stock in Ha Noi with more than two million of its shares being exchanged.

The afternoon session will start at 1pm. — VNS