At an HDBank transaction office in Hà Nội City, HDB's shares led the market on Thursday. — VNA/VNS Photo

Vietnamese markets continued their upward trend, closing higher on Thursday as foreign investors maintained their net buying streak for the second consecutive day.

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index increased by 4.01 points, or 0.31 per cent, to end the trading session at 1,291.49 points.

Throughout most of the day, the VN-Index remained above the reference level, maintaining a relatively stable range and closing the session higher.

Market breadth was negative, however, with 158 decliners outnumbering 141 gainers. Liquidity on the southern bourse slightly decreased to VNĐ21.8 trillion (US$882 million), marking a 4.3 per cent decrease compared to the previous trading session.

The VN30-Index, which tracks the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation, rose by 6.78 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 1,350.85 points. In the VN30 basket, 18 stocks advanced, nine declined and three remained unchanged.

Data compiled by financial website vietstock.vn showed that Ho Chi Minh City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HDB) was the biggest gainer, rising by 3.85 per cent and contributing nearly 0.78 points to the VN-Index.

It was followed by Tiên Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPB), whose shares hit the ceiling price on Thursday, increasing by 6.73 per cent. Other notable gainers included Việt Nam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (VNM), up 1.58 per cent, and Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (CTG), which gained 1.11 per cent.

Some stocks faced mild selling pressure, tempering the market's gains. The Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (VCB) fell by 0.32 per cent, Vietnam Airlines JSC (HVN) decreased by 2.07 per cent, and Hòa Phát Group JSC (HPG) declined by 0.57 per cent.

According to analysts from the Việt Dragon Securities: "The market continued its upward momentum, advancing deeper into the contested zone of 1,290 to 1,300 points. Liquidity increased compared to the previous session, indicating strong contention between supply and demand. Currently, the market is striving to maintain its upward trend and may reach the 1,300-point level or even surpass it into the overbought zone in the next trading session.

However, supply is expected to continue increasing, which could exert significant pressure on the market. Therefore, investors need to monitor supply and demand dynamics at the resistance zone to reassess the market's condition. For the time being, they should consider this recovery phase as an opportunity to restructure portfolios towards risk minimisation."

Meanwhile, on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index also finished higher on Thursday, edging up by 0.03 per cent to 235.92 points.

During the trading day, nearly VNĐ1.1 trillion worth of shares, equivalent to a trading volume of over 56.2 million shares, were traded on the northern market.

Foreign investors returned to their net-buying pattern, with a net purchase of VNĐ960 billion on HoSE. — VNS