Customers at Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID). BID gained 2.7 per cent yesterday. — Photo courtesy of BID

HÀ NỘI — Markets sustained positive momentum for the second consecutive session, bolstered by the strong performance of the banking sector.

The VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) rose 1.15 per cent, to 1,122.50 points.

More stocks moved to the upside on the southern bourse, of which 414 ticker symbols inched higher, while 122 stocks finished lower.

Liquidity rose compared to the previous session, with nearly 938 million shares traded on HoSE, worth nearly VNĐ19.7 trillion (US$478.3 million).

The benchmark index was boosted by gains in large-cap stocks, with the 30 biggest stocks tracker VN30-Index posting an increase of 1.13 per cent, to 1,131.90 points. Twenty-six stocks in the VN30 basket jumped, while two stocks slid. And two ended flat.

Leading the market's uptrend were pillar stocks in banking industries. In the top five stocks influencing the market, Bank for Investment and Development of Việt Nam (BID) was the biggest gainer in market capitalisation with a 2.7 per cent increase. It was followed by VPBank (VPB), Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), Tiên Phong Bank (TPB), and Techcombank (TCB).

Limiting the rallies, some big stocks still faced strong sell-offs, led by FPT Corporation (FPT) and PVPower (POW).

The market once again tested the MA(200) area of the VN-Index. Although cash flow tried to support it, the market was still restrained in this area and cooled down. The state of tension between supply and demand is still the main theme, shown by the Star candlestick with slightly increased liquidity, said Việt Dragon Securities Co.

"It is expected that the exploration fluctuation will continue into the new trading session. However, supply pressure from the MA(200) area still exists and may pose a risk of weakness to the market.

"Therefore, investors should slow down to observe the state of supply and demand, and should not temporarily chase stocks that have increased in price. Currently, it is possible to take advantage of the market's ability to increase to take profits or restructure the portfolio."

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index also finished higher yesterday. It rose 0.2 per cent, to 227.88 points.

During the session, VNĐ2 trillion worth of shares, equivalent to a trading volume of over 108.4 million shares, was traded on the northern market. VNS