Shares retreated on the two national exchanges, but market liquidity slightly improved on Jan. 07. In HCM City, the VN-Index backslide during the final minutes of trading, closing slightly lower than mark on Jan. 06 to 481.86.


Market value rose 16 per cent to VND807.9 billion (US$38.5 million) as more than 31.3 million shares changed hands.
Losers outnumbered gainers by 127-78.
Blue chips continued to perform poorly. Out of the 10 largest capitalised shares, two codes - insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) and industrial conglomerate Hoa Phat Group (HPG) - posted gains.
BVH rose 1.4 per cent, its fourth consecutive day of gains, and HPG was up 1.3 per cent.
Bank shares, which registered losses on Jan. 07, were still the most heavily-traded stocks on the southern bourse.
Eximbank (EIB), the most active stock with 1.86 million shares exchanged, dropped 1.3 per cent and Sacombank (STB), with 1.15 million shares traded, closed unchanged.
In Ha Noi, the HNX-Index dropped by 1.26 per cent to close at 110.04.
Trading volume rose by 35 per cent to 26.5 million shares, while the value of today's trades also increased by 32 per cent to VND508.7 billion ($24.2 million).
Decliners doubled advancers.
Ha Noi Bank (HBB) reclaimed the position of the most active stock on the Ha Noi bourse, with 2.46 million shares changing hands. It closed unchanged at VND11,100 (0.53) per share.