Shares extended gains on December 24 but cautious trading kept liquidity low on the two markets.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index added 0.29 percent to close at 539.44 points. The VN30, which tracks the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity, increased 0.27 percent to end at 591.19 points.

Liquidity declined, however, despite positive information on low inflation. The General Statistics Office estimated the consumer price index (CPI) in December would likely fall 0.24 percent on fuel price cuts, bringing annual inflation growth down to 4.09 percent.

Market volume was down 40 percent from December 23, totaling 70.7 million shares, while value of trades declined 60 percent to reach 1.461 trillion VND (68.3 million USD).

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index gained 0.48 percent to finish at 82.82 points and the HNX30, a tracker of the top 30 shares by market value, also climbed 0.6 percent to stand at 161.48 points.

Though remaining the most active stock with 10 million shares traded, shares of KLF Joint Venture Global Investment Co (KLF) still plunged 2.7 percent to settle at 10,800 VND a share.

Foreign investors again concluded as net buyers in the two stock markets, but their buys declined over the previous session, with a total of 80.5 billion VND (3.8 million USD) in shares, down 40 percent compared with December 23.-VNA