Shares continued to fall during this morning's session. However, the decline was slower than yesterday.

On the HCM City Stock Exchange, most stocks closed unchanged from yesterday's session. Only 52 listed shares managed to post gains, halting an earlier rally of the VN-Index. The index ended this morning 0.53 per cent lower at 384.52 points.

The VN30, representing the bourse's top shares, reached 449.09 points after losing 0.54 per cent.

Among the 30 stocks tracked by the VN30, six blue-chips edged up, but property developer Tan Tao (ITA), financial firm Ocean Group (OGC) and PetroVietnam Finance (PVF) continued to bottom out.

The overall value of trades reached VND222.9 billion (US$10.6 million) on a volume of nearly 17.5 million shares.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, trading was sluggish. Market value stood at just VND84.2 billion ($4 million), as only 13.6 million shares changed hands.

The HNX-Index retreated 0.4 per cent to 54.06 points. Blue chips sent the HNX30 down 0.36 per cent, fetching 99.54 points.

Afternoon trading will resume at 1pm.