A Vicostone facility that manufactures quartz stones. VCS was one of the stock leading the market rally yesterday. Photo congthuong.vn

HÀ NỘI — Stocks minted big gains on Monday as the market went wild amid optimistic sentiment.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index started off the afternoon with a steady rise. It hit a peak at around 1:30pm and then fell off.

The index rose again at 2:00pm and levelled off in about 15 minutes, creating a cup and handle pattern. Eventually, it suddenly ballooned to 1,231.35 points, up 25.02 points (2.07 per cent) against the previous session.

The market's breadth was predominantly positive as advancers outnumbered decliners by 283 to 73. Twelve stocks hit ceiling prices whereas three sat at the other end.

The market's liquidity was relatively elevated with 682 million shares traded on the southern bourse, equivalent to roughly VNĐ15.2 trillion (US$652 million).

The VN30-Index followed a similar pattern but with a flatter end-of-session gain. It gained 24.25 points (1.97 per cent) to reach 1,256.25 points. In the basket, 29 stocks climbed and one hit the ceiling price.

Vietcombank was the leading stock behind the market pickup with an increase of 3.08 per cent. Other stocks contributing to bullish indices include BIDV (BID), Hòa Phát Group (HPG), VietinBank (CTG) and Masan Group (MSN).

Securities firms were the main catalyst for the rally with a sector-wide gain of 5.83 per cent. In the sector, VNDirect (VND) gained 6.81 per cent, followed by SSI Securities (SSI) and Viet Capital (VCI).

Construction materials were the next sector riding high yesterday with a hike of 5.09 per cent. Notably, Hoa Phat Group (HPG) expanded by 6.05 per cent in market cap. Vicostone (VCS) followed suit with 2.47 per cent.

In the realty sector, the trio of stocks of the Vin family - Vingroup (VIC), Vincom (VRE) and Vinhomes (VHM) - saw green on the screen. The first gained 1.09 per cent, the second 3.57 per cent, and the last 0.17 per cent.

Banks fared relatively well yesterday with a sector gain of 2.65 per cent. Big winners include Vietcombank (VCB), BIDV (BID), and VietinBank (CTG). About 10 names lost points but they were overwhelmed by the upward trend across the sector.

The HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) gained 6.01 points (2.08 per cent) to reach 294.62 points.

Foreign investors poured money into the market by net-purchasing a total of around VNĐ650.85 billion worth of shares on the two exchanges. Of which, they net bought VNĐ660.41 billion on HoSE and net sold VNĐ9.56 billion on HNX. —VNS