Shares ended the first week of 2019 rallying after the previous three-day collapse had sent shares’ price down to attractive levels which triggered investors to bargain hunt.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange climbed 0.31 per cent to end the session at 880.90 points. It had decreased 1.52 per cent to end Thursday at 878.22 points.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index gained 0.32 per cent to end at 100.85 points. It moved down 2.09 per cent to end at 100.52 points on Thursday.

Nearly 170.4 million shares worth a combined VND3.3 trillion (US$140 million) were traded on the two markets.

Large-cap companies performed well with the blue-chip VN30 Index falling 0.16 per cent to 840.17 points.

Meanwhile, market breadth was positive with 210 stocks gaining and 203 declining, while 341 ended flat.

In the beginning, both VN-Index and HNX-Index slid on heavy selling pressure, however, buying demand at low price range increased, boosting the two indices towards the last minutes.

Most sectors gained Friday. Bank stocks advanced 0.51 per cent as HDBank (HDB), Vietcombank (VCB), and Vietinbank (CTG) respectively rose by 3.0 per cent, 1.5 per cent, and 1.4 per cent.

Real estate stocks increased by 0.57 per cent, driven by large-cap stocks such as Vingroup (VIC), Vinhomes (VHM) and Novaland (NVL).

Oilgas stocks were up 0.6 per cent thanks to PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS) (+4.2 per cent), PetroVietnam Drilling & Well Services Corporation (PVD) (+2.9 per cent), and Viet Nam National Petroleum Group (PLX) (+2.4 per cent).

Foreign investors were net sellers of nearly VND88 billion on the HSX after remaining net buyers for seven straight sessions.

Investors remained cautious and concerned about the possibility of the market’s downtrend in the short term. They are also affected by the development of the global stock market which is much influenced by the trade tensions between China and the US.

The two countries will hold trade talks on January 7-8 for trade discussions after the two nations agreed to hold off on further tariffs or retaliation for 90 days starting December 1.

They will discuss implementing the important consensus reached at the sidelines of the G20 summit.

US stocks have experienced a slump lately, especially shares of companies having China-related business activities like Apple. These losses have placed pressure on the US market.

According to Bao Viet Securities Company (BVSC), the US and China can reach an agreement to hold off trade war escalation. The US.may temporarily put the trade war on pause for several months before holding the next discussions but they can hardly grant a full concession to China.

The UPCOM Index on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) inched up 0.03 per cent to finish at 52.19 points. It lost 1.17 per cent to stand at 52.17 points on Thursday. — VNS