Bank stocks strengthened during Friday’s afternoon trade which rescued the VN-Index from another fall as investor sentiment remained fragile.

The benchmark VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange edged up 0.18 per cent to close Friday’s session at 768.97 points. It decreased 0.8 per cent on Thursday.

Banks led the market rebound with five of seven listed lenders on the southern market advancing. Eximbank (EIB) rose by the daily maximum rate of 7 per cent, settling at 6.6 per cent to VND12,050 a share.

BIDV (BID), the third largest listed bank by market value, increased 2.9 per cent, while the two biggest lenders – Vietcombank (VCB) and Vietinbank (CTG) – picked up by less than 1 per cent each.

VPBank (VPB) which debuted on Thursday with 1.33 million shares dropped 4.6 per cent at VND37,200 a share and was no longer the most expensive bank share. Meanwhile, Sacombank (STB) edged down 0.8 per cent.

Many heavyweight shares in the VN30 basket (which tracks the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity on the HCM City’s exchange) also advanced and supported the market, including steelmakers Hoa Phat Group (HPG), Hoa Sen Group (HSG), food-beverage firms like Vinamilk (VNM) and Kido Group (KDC), and real estate developers like FLC Faros Construction (ROS), Novaland Investment Group (NVL) and Kinh Bac City Development (KBC).

On the defensive side, energy and pharmaceutical shares slumped and weighed on the market, such as PV Gas (GAS), PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service (PVD) and DHG Pharmaceutical (DHG).

According to BIDV Securities Company, Friday’s recovery was driven mainly by VN30 large-cap stocks, especially in the banking, food-beverage and steel sectors. However, liquidity in these stocks remained modest while overall liquidity was weakening.

“The VN-Index may return to 770 points and fluctuate around 770-775 points next Monday, but market risk remains on the back of unstable liquidity,” they wrote in a note.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index inched up 0.34 per cent at 100.83 points.

A total of 248.5 million shares worth a combined VND3.9 trillion (US$171.7 million) were traded on the two markets, down 15.8 per cent in volume and 38.1 per cent in value compared to the previous session. – VNS