Investors watch market fluctuations on the Maybank Kim Eng stock trading floor. — Photo enternews.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) —  Shares were volatile in yesterday afternoon's trade, affected by the divergence of large-cap stocks due to prospect of third-quarter earnings.

The benchmark VN-Index, the measure of 313 stocks on the HCM Stock Exchange, edged up marginally to 687.3 points after touching nearly 691 points in the morning trade. The index rose for three days in a row by 1 per cent.

On the smaller exchange in Ha Noi, the HNX-Index tracking 378 stocks increased 0.5 per cent to close the session at 86 points. It gained 1.4 per cent in the last three trading days.

Blue chips were mixed. The largest listed diary firm Vinamilk (VNM), lenders Vietcombank (VCB), Sacombank (STB), Military Banks (MBB) and real estate companies such as Tan Tao Investment Industry (ITA), Kinh Bac City Development (KBC) and FLC Group (FLC) maintained their rises.

Energy stocks continue to perform well in the afternoon, boosted by strong increases in global oil prices.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil climbed 2.34 per cent on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday to US$49.83 per barrel, the highest since the end of June, while Brent crude increased 1.95 per cent to $51.86 per barrel.

Except for PV Gas (GAS), which inched down 1.5 per cent, most oil and gas stocks gained value, including PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service (PVD), up nearly 4 per cent; Petroleum Equipment Assembly & Metal Structure (PXS), PetroVietnam Drilling Mud (PVC) and PetroVietnam Technical Services (PVS), all rising between 0.5 per cent and 2 per cent.

On the other end of the spectrum, some blue chips tumbled and weighed on the market, including top 10 highest valued stocks like VinGroup (VIC), Masan Group (MSN), Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) and steelmaker Hoa Phat Group (HPG).

"Market movement in this period will experience a divergence due to third-quarter earnings results of listed companies on the two exchanges," Tran Duc Anh, an analyst at Bao Viet Securities Co wrote in a report.

Anh predicted the market would likely rally with alternate ups and downs to move towards the next target at 700-720 points.

Market sentiment was positive after the Government showed its determination to push up economic growth in the coming months to attain the GDP growth rate target of 6.3-6.5 per cent by year-end. This means stronger stimulus policies will likely be adopted in the last months of this year, especially monetary policy.

Liquidity improved yesterday with a total of 198 million shares worth a combined VND3.3 trillion ($148 million) in the two markets, up 26.2 per cent in volume and 22.2 per cent in value over Wednesday's levels.

Foreign investors were net buyers for a second day. Their net buy value soared to VND88.5 billion yesterday from a small VND6 billion on Wednesday. —  VNS