Vietnamese shares gained yesterday as positive investor confidence lifted banking-finance industry and several individual mid-cap stocks.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange (HOSE) rose 1.52 per cent to close at 949.73 points.

The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) added 1 per cent to end at 106.76 points. It has risen a total of 3 per cent since last Thursday.

More than 228 million shares were traded on both local exchanges, worth VND4.2 trillion (US$182 million).

Banking, brokerage and energy sectors were the biggest gainers among 20 industries on the stock market.

These three sectors posted growth rates of 2.37 per cent, 2 per cent 1.67 per cent, respectively, according to data on vietstock.vn.

Gainers in the securities sector included Saigon Securities Incorporation (SSI), Viet Capital Securities JSC (VCI), Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corporation (HCM), VNDirect Securities Corporation (VND) and FPT Securities JSC (FTS), gaining between 2.3 per cent and 6.1 per cent.

Among the nine listed banks, Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BID), VPBank (VPB) and Military bank (MBB) were the largest three gainers, up between 2.2 per cent and 6 per cent.

Other large-cap, mid-cap and penny stocks also contributed to the market gains. Hoang Anh Gia Lai JSC (HAG) and FLC Group JSC (FLC) hit the daily limit rise of 7 per cent.

Besides, stocks such as Petroleum Equipment Assembly & Metal Structure JSC (PXS), An Phat - Yen Bai Mineral and Plastic JSC (HII), Phuoc Hoa Rubber JSC (PHR), Truong Thanh Furniture Corporation (TTF) and A Cuong Mineral Group JSC (ACM) also reached the ceiling growth of 7 per cent.

Foreign investors yesterday net sold VND41.7 billion on the HOSE, focusing on dairy firm Vinamilk (VNM) (VND12.5 billion), Masan group (MSN) (VND8.1 billion) and budget carrier Vietjet (VJC) (VND6.9 billion). However, they net bought VND2.7 billion on the HNX.

According to Bao Viet Securities Company (BVSC), after the trading session yesterday, VN-Index is moving towards 945-960 points.

Large- cap stocks are forecast to keep moving in a narrow range. Conversely, speculative stocks will remain attractive to investors with significant changes in prices and volume, BVSC said.

Viet Dragon Securities Company said in its daily report that cash flow was poured strongly in blue-chips and mid-cap stocks thanks to the second quarter positive business results. Upward trend is likely to continue this week. — VNS