Vietcombank (VCB)'s shares rose 2.2 per cent. — VNS Photo Mai Hương

HÀ NỘI — Shares sustained gains on Thursday, buoyed by robust performance in the banking, securities and real estate stocks.

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index added 1.3 per cent to close at 1,276.42 points. This benchmark index increased 1.4 per cent on Wednesday.

Liquidity also witnessed significant growth with 1.25 billion shares worth VNĐ29.6 trillion (US$1.2 billion), up 14 per cent in volume and 30 per cent in value compared to Wednesday’s levels.

Shares gained momentum since the morning, and according to market insiders were primarily driven by ongoing discussions concerning the State Securities Commission’s consideration of allowing foreign investors to make unsecured transactions. This solution has garnered broad consensus and feasibility assessments from market participants.

Most industry groups managed to maintain a positive trend, with 342 stocks in the green while only 98 experienced declines.

Leading the charge were banking stocks, with notable gains from Vietcombank (VCB), up 2.2 per cent and Techcombank (TCB) up 6.6 per cent. They were the biggest contributors to the VN-Index with both adding 5.3 points for the index. Other banks such as Vietnam International Bank (VIB), Military Bank (MBB), Hồ Chí Minh Development Bank (HDB), Vietinbank (CTG) and Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) increased between 1.6 per cent and 5.7 per cent.

The securities sector also witnessed a notable uptrend with VNDirect Securities (VND), Sài Gòn-Hà Nội Securities (SHS) and MB Securities (MBS) rising by 3.4 per cent, 4.2 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the real estate sector saw heightened activity during the afternoon session. Phát Đạt Real Estate Development (PDR) hit the daily gain limit of 7 per cent. This surge was further fuelled by Fubon, one of Việt Nam's largest ETFs, purchasing an additional 4.3 million shares during the period from March 7-19.

This positive sentiment spilled over to other stocks in the construction and real estate groups such as Development Investment Construction (DIG), up 4.3 per cent, Kinh Bắc City Development Holding (KBC) up 4.9 per cent and Novaland (NVL) up 3.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index also rose for a second day, gaining 1.3 per cent to end the session at 241.14 points. Nearly 166 million shares worth VNĐ3.6 trillion were traded.

In contrast to domestic investors, foreign traders were net sellers on HCM City’s exchange, offloading shares worth VNĐ357.3 billion. However, they were net buyers in Hà Nội’s market, but for a modest value of VNĐ90.5 billion. — VNS