Investors watch market movements at MB Securities Company. — VNS Photo Truong Vi

Vietnamese shares extended gains on Wednesday morning thanks to the growth of large-caps in the banking and oil sector.

The benchmark VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange gained 0.37 per cent to close at 982.86 points, extending its gain of nearly 1 per cent on Tuesday.

The HNX Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange ended flat at 110.03 points compared to Tuesday’s rise of 1.81 per cent.

More than 146.2 million shares were traded on the two local exchanges, worth nearly VNĐ2.97 trillion (US$128.5 million).

Investor sentiment seemed good as investors focused their purchases on blue chips to lift the large-cap VN30 Index up 0.37 per cent to 958.78 points.

The overall market breadth was positive with 221 stocks on the two exchanges advancing, 167 declining and 461 remaining unchanged.

Among gaining banking stocks were Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID), Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), Vietinbank (CTG), Vietcombank (VCB), Military Bank (MBB) and VPBank (VPB).

Oil stocks also gained ground, with gainers including PetroVietnam Gas JSC (GAS), PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services (PVD), PetroVietnam Technical Services (PVS) and PetroVietnam Coating Corp (PVB).

The afternoon trading session begins at 1 pm. — VNS