A teller of Techcombank (TCB). TCB rose 1.9 per cent on Thursday. Photo Techcombank

HÀ NỘI Shares extended gains on Thursday thanks to a handful of banking stocks, helping VN-Index surpass the 1,200-point landmark.

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index ended at 1,208.12 points, up 1.43 per cent against the previous session. The index ended Wednesday at 1,191.04 points, up 0.5 per cent.

The market's breadth stood positive with 378 advancers and 90 decliners.

The market's liquidity increased compared to the previous session with 668.9 million shares traded on the southern bourse, equivalent to roughly VNĐ15.3 trillion (US$654.7 million).

The VN30-Index gained 1.37 per cent to stay at 1,236.14 points. In the basket, 26 stocks climbed, one stayed flat and three slid.

Banking stocks led the market rally with gainers including Vietcombank (VCB), Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID), Techcombank (TCB), VietinBank (CTG), Military Bank (MBB), Vietnam International Commercial JS Bank (VIB) and Saigon-Hanoi Commercial JS Bank (SHB).

Seafood also attracted cash flow. Notably, Vĩnh Hoàn Corp (VHC) expanded by 2 per cent and Sao Mai Group Corporation (ASM) followed suit with an increase of 1.7 per cent.

In the realty sector, the trio stocks of the Vin family - Vingroup (VIC), Vincom (VRE) and Vinhomes (VHM) - saw positive performances. The first gained 0.8 per cent, the second 7 per cent whereas the last rose 0.3 per cent.

The HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) gained 1.87 per cent to end Thursday at 289.84 points. The index had gained 0.58 per cent to close Wednesday at 284.52 points.

“The market re-tested the gap on July 20 with the supply weakening, thereby creating an opportunity for demand to rise and helping the indices reverse on the back of low liquidity,” said BIDV Securities Co.

“With the positive movement maintained until the end of the session, the market still has room to gain in the next session.

“However, investors should still pay attention to the short-term resistance zone around 1,200 points of VN-Index and 1,225-1,228 points of VN30-Index.

“Therefore, investors can continue to expect a recovery and may consider buying stocks that are near the base price and have positive technical signals.” — VNS