The VN-Index edged up for a second day on Dec. 7 to close at 498.61, a gain of 0.74 percent, on continued sluggish volume on the HCM Stock Exchange.

The volume of the day’s trades dropped to just 26.36 million shares, worth a combined 1.1 trillion VND (59.5 million USD), the lowest figures since July of this year.

A strong performance by real estate and construction shares helped ensure the advance of the VN-Index despite the low volumes, remarked FPT Securities Co analysts in their daily report. Despite the attractive prices of many shares many investors were waiting for a clearer sign of market trends before deciding to buy or sell, they said.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, solid blue chips also helped lift the HNX-Index by 0.44 percent to a close of 160.09 points, a second day of modest gains.

The volume of trades on the northern bourse grew to 15.6 million shares, up 17.3 percent from Dec. 4’s session, for a total value of 602.38 billion VND (32.6 million USD), 33 percent higher than Dec. 4’s total.

Kim Long Securities KLS was the most heavily-traded share on the Hanoi market, with over 2.1 million changing hands.

Foreign investors finished on Dec. 7 as net buyers of over a million shares on the HCM City market, worth a net of 44.7 billion VND (2.4 million USD), while they were net sellers on the Hanoi bourse of 174,800 shares, worth a net of 12.4 billion VND (670,810 USD)./.