The strong rally of Vietcombank (VCB) to its old peak helped benchmark indices end the week on a positive note. However, foreign investors net sold a large value on the market.

The VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) climbed 11.85 points, or 1.05 per cent, to 1,138.07 points. The gain reclaimed all losses of Thursday's trade and lifted the index close to the peak of 1,140 points.

The index dipped 8.4 points in the previous session on the strong profit-taking sentiment.

The breadth of the market was positive with gainers outnumbering decliners. Of which, 208 stocks on the southern exchange inched higher, while 101 went down.

Liquidity, however, fell over the previous session. Trading volume and value on HoSE declined 13.1 per cent and 11.29 per cent, respectively, to 798.4 million shares and VND16.5 trillion (US$697.6 million).

The market's benchmark struggled in the morning trade, but it suddenly soared in the afternoon session on the back of large-cap stocks.

The VN30-Index, which tracks the 30 biggest stocks on HoSE, added nearly 10 points, or 0.89 per cent, to 1,129.43 points. Two-thirds of stocks in the VN30 basket advanced, while seven slid and three ended flat.

Leading the market's rally trend was Vietcombank. The banking giant's shares surged nearly 4.3 per cent to the session high of VND105,000, which is also its highest close set on June 16.

At the current price, its capitalisation reaches nearly VND500 trillion, far surpassing others in the industry and nearly doubling that of the second largest company Vinhomes.

With the strong gain of VCB, others in the industry also performed well in the afternoon session, except for TPBank which decreased 0.82 per cent and Techcombank (TCB) and Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) which moved sideways.

Also supporting the market, Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG) jumped 5.32 per cent, Hoa Phat Group (HPG) was up 1.67 per cent, Vietnam Rubber Group (GVR) increased by 2.66 per cent, and PV Gas (GAS) rose 0.84 per cent.

Analysts from Saigon - Hanoi Securities (SHS) said that in the medium and long term, the market remains in the recovery phase after crossing over the accumulation area set in the past six months.

The market is expected to continue creating the foundation for the possibility of an uptrend formation in the medium term if macro factors are positive and the VN-Index breaks over the strong resistance of around 1,150 points.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index also recovered on Friday, up 0.74 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 225.82 points.

During the session, investors poured VND1.49 trillion into the northern market, equal to a trading volume of 85.5 million shares.

Meanwhile, foreign investors withdrew from the market as they net sold a great value of over VND1.4 trillion on HoSE and VND21.42 billion on HNX. — VNS