The stock market chalked up gains on Wednesday as bullish sentiment lifted indices.
On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index started off the afternoon with fluctuations around the baseline. At around 2:15pm, it rose steeply, creating a bullish flag pattern.
The index ended higher at 1,191.04 points, up 5.97 points (0.5 per cent) against the previous session.
The market's breadth stood positive with advancers outnumbering decliners by 190 to 136. Eight stocks hit ceiling prices whereas only one sat at the other end.
The market's liquidity was low with 388 million shares traded on the southern bourse, equivalent to roughly VND8 trillion (US$342 million).
The VN30-Index echoed the market pattern but with much smaller gains. It gained just 0.94 points (0.08 per cent) to stay at 1,219.43 points. In the basket, 17 stocks climbed, six stayed flat and seven slid.
Vietcombank was leading the market rally with an increase of 1.49 per cent. Other stocks lifting indices included VietinBank (CTG), Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), Viglacera (VGC), and Vingroup (VIC).
Insurance was the main catalyst for the market pickup with a sector-wide gain of 4.81 per cent. In the sector, Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) was up 5.15 per cent, followed by PVI Holdings (PVI) with 8.05 per cent and Post-Telecommunication Insurance (PTI) with 4.91 per cent.
Seafood was the next sector contributing to the indices' hikes as it gained 1.89 per cent on Wednesday. Notably, Vinh Hoan Corp. (VHC) expanded by 2.54 per cent in market-cap and Nam Viet Corp. (ANV) followed suit with an increase of 1.83 per cent.
In the realty sector, the trio stocks of the Vin family - Vingroup (VIC), Vincom (VRE) and Vinhomes (VHM) - saw mixed performances. The first gained 0.61 per cent, the second gained 0.96 per cent whereas the last lost 0.17 per cent.
Banking stocks did well Wednesday with a sector-wide gain of 0.60 per cent. Big gainers included Vietcombank (VCB), VietinBank (CTG) and ACB (ACB). Meanwhile, BIDV (BID), Techcombank (TCB) and VPBank (VPB) remained unchanged in prices.
The HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) gained 1.64 points (0.58 per cent) to reach 284.52 points.
Foreign investors poured money into the market by net-purchasing a total of around VND620 billion worth of shares on the two exchanges. Of which, they net bought VND619 billion on HoSE and VND812 million on HNX. — VNS