Markets reversed the last session's downtrend to finish higher, buoyed by profit-taking force and foreign capital inflow. 

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index rose 2.47 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 1,103.66 points. The gain recouped some of the 24.34-point loss set last Friday. 

The benchmark index opened on Monday morning with a negative reaction following last week's strong correction. However, with the return of cash flows for bargain-hunting, the index has significantly narrowed its losses. It closed the morning session with just a 1-point decrease.

According to experts, the pressure of the domestic exchange rate has cooled down significantly amid expectations that the US Federal Reverse is done with the rate hikes. Cooling exchange rates have allowed monetary policy to be loosened.

The breadth of the market on Monday, however, remained in negative territory, with 143 stocks rising, while 160 declined. 

Liquidity fell sharply from the previous session, of which, the trading value and volume on the southern bourse decreased by 33.47 per cent and 36.2 per cent, respectively, to nearly VNĐ16.1 trillion (US$664.4 million) and over 796.9 million shares. 

Meanwhile, the 30 biggest stocks tracker VN30-Index closed lowered at 1,102.85 points, a decline of 0.68 points, or 0.06 per cent. In the VN30 basket, ten ticker symbols inched up, 14 were down and six ended flat. 

The HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) also rebounded to 227.77 points, a gain of 1.23 points, or 0.54 per cent. 

During the session, nearly 102.2 million shares were traded on the northern bourse, worth nearly VNĐ2 trillion.  

Leading the rally trend on Monday was Vietcombank (VCB). Shares of the lender increased 0.58 per cent. 

Other stocks supporting the bullish sentiment were in the securities sector, including Saigon - Hanoi Securities JSC (SHS) soared 3.45 per cent, SSI Securities Corporation (SSI) jumped 2.86 per cent, VNDirect Securities Corporation (VND) surged nearly 4.7 per cent, VIX Securities Joint Stock Company (VIX) was up 4.32 per cent and Hồ Chí Minh City Securities Corporation (HCM) climbed 2.26 per cent. 

The inflow of foreign capital also lifted the market. In particular, foreign investors net bought VNĐ465.37 billion on HoSE, but net sold a small amount of VNĐ1.45 billion on HNX. 

However, gains were capped by the lingering selling pressure, with Vinamilk (VNM) registering the biggest loss of 1 per cent. — VNS