Shares improved slightly on the HCM City Stock Exchange this morning but continued to slump on the Ha Noi bourse.

The VN-Index on the HCM City Stock Exchange closed up 0.02 per cent at 442.93 points.

Market value continued to fall, totalling VND374.4 billion (US$17.9 million) by the end of this morning, down 58 per cent from yesterday's level.

The recovery of several large-cap shares supported the market. PetroVietnam Finance (PVF) jumped 4.9 per cent and dairy Vinamilk (VNM) rose 2.1 per cent following the news that the firm earned a total after-tax profit of VND5.8 trillion ($277.5 million) last year, exceeding its yearly target by 23 per cent and its 2011 profit by 40 per cent.
The VN30, tracking the top 30 shares on the bourse, went up 0.15 per cent to stand at 521.99 points.

Tan Tao Industry Investment (ITA) is currently the most active stock with 1.74 million shares changing hands, being traded at VND6,400 a share.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange decreased 0.32 per cent to finish the morning at 59.30 on a turnover of almost VND168 billion ($8 million).
Sai Gon-Ha Noi Bank (SHB) was again the most active stock on trades of 5.4 million shares, closing flat at VND6,400 a share.

The State Securities Commission discovered a group of individual investors creating fake supply and demand to manipulate stock prices.

The result showed that these investors bought stocks using many accounts in different companies. Their identities will be disclosed this week along with the sanctions they face.

Trading will resume at 1pm.