The VN-Index slipped another 2.82 points yesterday to close at 300.04, as liquidity remained low on the HCM City Stock Exchange.


Trading volume stayed at nearly 5 million shares on a turnover of about VND121 billion (US$7.1 million). The most active stocks included Sacombank (STB) with orders for 748,600 shares, Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) with 315,400 shares and Viet Nam Petroleum Transport Joint Stock Co (VIP) with 208,000.


Foreign investors were net sellers yesterday, picking up 511,000 shares and shedding 1.27 million units. Net sale value reached VND21 billion ($1.2 million) for the day.


FPT Securities said low liquidity continued to hinder market growth, adding that just a scattering of investors had come to the company to carry out transactions recently.


"Everyone wants to hold cash rather than take part in transactions right now as the market has not shown any signs of a rally," the company wrote on its website.


Tong Minh Tuan, deputy director of the Bao Viet Securities analysis department, said despite the gloomy situation, investors could still expect profits when investing in areas that have stable consumption markets such as healthcare and pharmaceutical products.


He said basic materials shares such as rubber, iron and steel would see opportunities in the second half of the year, while banking and finance would face difficulties in 2009 due to an expected lower credit demand. The real-estate sector was also experiencing a challenging time and Tuan said he saw little chance of early recovery.


Construction, telecommunications and technology would also see significant difficulties, he said.


"However, even in areas that are showing unpromising performance, there are still attractive shares worth buying," said Tuan. "The important thing is to consider the areas' prospect and assess their fluctuation in the coming months to find investment opportunities when the market rallies."


In Ha Noi yesterday, the HASTC-Index once again fell below its starting point of 100, closing at 99.75 points after losing 0.93 percent on the day. Trading volume was negligible at 2.2 million shares, worth VND46.6 billion ($2.7 million).


Market leader Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) generated orders for only 360,000 shares, followed by Kim Long Securities (KLS) with 323,000 shares.