The market inched slightly higher on Thursday morning, boosted by bank stocks while losses in other large-cap stocks pared the gains.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index rose 0.29 per cent to 1,272.8 points. The market breadth was negative with 196 stocks climbing while 200 stocks declined.

However the market's liquidity was higher than yesterday as local investors poured nearly VNĐ12.5 trillion into the southern bourse, equivalent to a trading volume of 416.5 million shares.

The VN30-Index increased by 0.39 per cent to 1,385.56 points. Of the 30 biggest stocks in market capitalisation, 14 stocks jumped while 13 stocks slid and three stocks stayed flat.

Gains in big bank stocks contributed the most for this morning's bullish sentiment. Vietinbank (CTG) was the biggest gainer in the morning session, up 3.78 per cent. Other bank stocks posting gains of more than 1 per cent were VPBank (VPB), MBBank (MBB), Sacombank (STB) and JSC Bank For Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID).

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index rose 1.09 per cent to 285.4 points. VNS