Large-cap companies performed well with the blue-chip VN30 Index rising 0.62 per cent to 860.31 points. — Photo ndh.vn

Shares showed positive movement during first trading session of the year thanks to the recovery of many blue-chip stocks.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange increased 0.34 per cent to end morning trading at 895.59 points.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index dropped 0.70 per cent to 103.50 points.

Nearly 52.5 million shares worth a combined VNĐ1 trillion (US$45 million) were traded on the two markets.

Large-cap companies performed well with the blue-chip VN30 Index rising 0.62 per cent to 860.31 points.

Meanwhile, market breadth was negative with 166 stocks gaining and 190 declining, while 398 ended flat.

Blue-chips that declined in the last session of 2018, such as real estate developer Vingroup (VIC), insurer Bảo Việt Holdings (BVH), Vincom Retail (VRE), budget carrier Vietjet (VJC) and dairy firm Vinamilk (VNM), all recovered strongly on Wednesday morning, lifting the VN-Index closer to 900 points after only a few minutes of trading.

However, some other large-cap stocks like brewery Sabeco (SAB), Vinhomes (VHM), Mobile World Group (MWG) and VPBank (VPB) dropped, weighing down the indices.

Afternoon trading starts at 1pm. — VNS