Vietnamese shares were quiet on Thursday morning as investors remained cautious about the current market conditions.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange inched up 0.13 per cent to close at 983.23 points.

The benchmark VN-Index moved quietly in the early trading session as investors held on to cash and waited for the difficult period to end after the market recorded a two-day fall of 1.57 per cent.

Low market sentiment resulted in modest trading liquidity with more than 64 million shares being traded on the southern stock exchange, worth VND1.18 trillion (US$50.6 million).

The market breadth was slightly positive with 138 gaining stocks and 117 decliners.

In the large-cap VN30 basket, half of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation advanced, while nine slid.

The large-cap VN30-Index gained firmly by 0.12 per cent to 894.27 points at the end of the morning session.

Among companies with smaller market value, GTN Foods surged 6.9 per cent after Viet Capital Securities (VCSC) said in its Wednesday report that the State Securities Commission had approved dairy producer Vinamilk's purchase of a 46.68 per cent stake in GTN Foods.

If the deal is completed, Vinamilk will increase its ownership in GTN Foods to 49 per cent. On March 23, GTN Foods' board of directors rejected Vinamilk’s offer.

Vinamilk shares edged up 0.6 per cent on Thursday morning.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index increased by 0.10 per cent to end at 107.53 points.

The northern market index lost a total 1.37 per cent in the previous two sessions.

Nearly 12 million shares were traded on the northern bourse, worth VND154 billion.

The afternoon trading session starts at 1pm. — VNS