Shares ended on a positive note on Tuesday as cash flowed into large-caps.

The benchmark VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange rose 0.33 per cent to close at 995.19 points having gained 0.49 per cent on Monday.

The HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange advanced 0.56 per cent to end at 112.24 points after jumping 3.33 per cent the previous day.

Liquidity slid slightly compared to the previous session with more than 220.2 million shares traded on the two local bourses worth nearly VND5 trillion (US$216.7 million).

Financial-banking, securities, construction materials and insurance were the main driving factors on Tuesday.

Mixed performances were seen among the top 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation in the VN30 basket, but the VN30 Index inched up 0.46 per cent to end at 971.01 points.

Among the gainers were PetroVietnam Gas JSC (GAS), Saigon Securities Incorporation (SSI), Saigon Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB), FLC Faros Construction Joint Stock Company (ROS) and steel maker Hoa Phat Group (HPG).

On the other side, steel maker Hoa Sen Group (HSG), real estate developer Vinhomes (VHM), Techcombank (TCB) and retailer Mobile World Group weighed on market sentiment.

Bank stocks gained across the board, with SHB, Vietcombank (VCB) and Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (STB) respectively jumping 2.4 per cent, 1.4 per cent and 0.9 per cent.

Securities stocks increased, strongly driven by VNDirect Securities Corporation (VND), Saigon Securities Incorporation (SSI) and MB Securities Joint Stock Company (MBS). Among steel stocks, Hoa Phat Group (HPG) rose by 2.4 per cent.

According to Bao Viet Securities Company, the VN-Index is moving towards the resistance threshold of 996-1,010 points. However, the market is witnessing wide divergence among groups of stocks and may experience some alternate volatility and corrections while moving up.

Foreign investors bought VND283 billion on HOSE, focusing on steel maker Hoa Phat Group (HPG) (VND140.86 billion), Saigon Securities Incorporation (SSI) (VND61.34 billion) and Vietcombank (VCB) (VND50.13 billion). They also net bought VND1.66 billion on the HNX.

According to BIDV Securities Company (BSC), the positive results from the US-Mexico trade talks as well as optimistic investor sentiment about the prospects for trade between the US-Canada and the European Union in the forthcoming negotiations led the market up.

The UPCOM Index on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) edged down 0.52 per cent to finish at 51.28 points. The unlisted market index dropped 0.09 per cent in the previous session. — VNS