Shares improved slightly on the HCM Stock Exchange on July 23 with the recovery of a few large-cap stocks and a high market liquidity.

The VN Index sometimes reached above 635 points, however, the index ended lower as shareholders posed strong selling pressure at the end and buyers were cautious about the market condition.

The VN-Index added 2.16 points or 0.34 percent to end at 632.01 points with 86 gainers and 134 decliners.

Market liquidity rose a little in both volume and value with nearly 121 million shares traded, worth 2.32 trillion VND (107.3 million USD).

Strong selling orders later in the day pushed large-cap shares below their previous session values, cutting the VN Index's early gains.

The banking sector suffered the most from selling activity. At the end of the session, only Military Bank (MBB) made gains, up 1.25 percent to 16,200 VND.

MBB was also the most active code with 9.75 million shares traded, followed by Saigon Securities Incorporation (SSI) with 8.8 million shares.

The gas and oil sector declined, except PetroVietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation (GAS) and PetroVietnam Drilling & Well Service Corporation (PVD), respectively gaining 2,000 VND and 900 VND in market value.

Other losers included Ma San Group Corporation (MSN), property developer FLC Group (FLC), Vietcombank (VCB) and Vingroup Joint Stock Company (VIC).

The VN-Index could have fallen further without its support legs like Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), which hit the ceiling value at 57,500 VND, and securities and other large-cap shares likes Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (VNM) and FPT Corporation (FPT).

Foreign investors also contributed to bringing the market up by switching from net sellers on July 22 to net buyers on the following day, with value traded totaling 82.68 billion VND (3.83 million USD).

The Hanoi Stock Exchange's HNX Index performance was inverted, dropping 1.7 percent to finish at 86.07 points as large-cap shares were sold strongly on the market.

Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones by 112 to 71, with 48.6 million shares traded at a value of 641.65 billion VND (29.7 million USD).

Key sectors including banks, brokerage firms and gas corporations declined. Only VNDirect Securities JSC (VND) made a small gain of 100 VND to close at 14,800 VND.

Kim Vi Inox Import Export Production Joint Stock Company (KVC) continued to attract huge attention from investors with a value increase of 3,300 VND or 9.88 percent to 36,700 VND.

Saigon Thuong Tin Real Estate JSC (SCR) topped the market in number of trades, 5.37 million shares.

Foreign investors on the northern market totaled 16.65 billion VND (770,833 USD) in net buys, 45 times larger than July 22's value.-VNA