Shares inched higher on Thursday morning as a wide range of big bank stocks recovered. But downside risk remains due to strong falls in real estate stocks.

The VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) climbed 0.35 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 1,346.18 points. The index gained despite a negative market breadth with 199 stocks down, while 195 stocks increased.

The liquidity slightly improved compared to yesterday as nearly VND10.3 trillion (US$450.1 million) was poured into the market, up 6.2 per cent. There were nearly 350 million shares traded on the southern bourse.

The index's uptrend was driven by the recovery of large-cap bank stocks.

The VN30-Index, tracking 30 biggest stocks on HoSE, increased by 3.18 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 1,448.03 points. Of the VN30 basket, 18 stocks jumped, while 10 dropped and two stayed unchanged.

In the morning trade, Vietcombank took the lead with a rise of 1.24 per cent. Other big banks with strong gains included Vietinbank (CTG), up 1.93 per cent, BIDV (BID), up 1.68 per cent, VPBank (VPB), up 1.1 per cent, and Techcombank (TCB), up 0.93 per cent.

Masan Group (MSN) continued to support the market this morning with an increase of 2.28 per cent. The company shares hit the biggest daily gain of 7 per cent in the previous session.

Vincom Retail (VRE) and PetroVietnam Gas (PVGas, PVG) also contributed to the market's rally, with VRE shares up nearly 5 per cent.

However, there is still risk of reversing course in the afternoon session as big losses in large-cap stocks, especially in real estate sector, still weighed on the market.

Vingroup (VIC) fell sharply 3.28 per cent this morning, while Vinhomes (VHM) lost 1.95 per cent. Vietnam Airlines (VHM) also posted a loss of more than 4 per cent.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index reported a gain of 3.45 points, or 0.98 per cent, to 354.2 points. VNS