Customers shop at a store of Mobile World Investment Corporation in Tangerang, Indonesia. Shares of the company soared 4.2 per cent on Wednesday, leading the market's trend. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Benchmark indices managed to close slightly higher in the last trading minutes on Wednesday, while foreign investors net sold a huge amount of more VNĐ2 trillion on the two main bourses. 

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index increased 0.88 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 1,283.09 points. The index was traded in red for most of the trading session. 

The market's breadth remained in the positive territory with 187 stocks edging up while 122 ticker symbols declined. 

Liquidity on the southern exchange increased from the previous session, up from nearly VNĐ22 trillion to VNĐ24 trillion (US$971 million). More than 919.2 million shares were traded on HoSE. 

The liquidity witnessed an improvement in the afternoon session, with significant trading volume growth primarily observed in small-cap stocks. 

The VNSmallcap, which indicates the growth of companies whose scale is small, reported the best performance among HoSE's indices, with a gain of 0.86 per cent, while the Midcap which measures the growth of medium-sized enterprises rose 0.26 per cent. 

The VN30-Index, tracking the 30 biggest stocks on the southern bourse, also finished higher at 1,288.77 points, up 2.54 points, or 0.2 per cent. Thirteen stocks in the VN30 basket advanced, 11 ticked down and six stayed unchanged. 

Statistics from a financial website showed that gains in Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG), Masan Group (MSN) and Vietinbank (CTG) helped lift the market today. Particularly, MWG shares led the uptrend with an increase of more than 4.2 per cent, followed by MSN (up nearly 2 per cent) and CTG (up 0.85 per cent). 

Five stocks in the VNSmallcap that logged the biggest daily gain of 7 per cent were VRC Real Estate and Investment JSC (VRC), Quốc Cường Gia Lai JSC (QCG), South Basic Chemicals JSC (CSV), Vietnam Container Shipping JSC (VSC) and Vu Dang Investment & Trading JSC (SVD).

The index pared gains on the persistent selling pressure on some big names, especially in the banking industry. BIDV (BID) and Vietcombank (VCB) lost 0.94 and 0.52 per cent, respectively. 

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index also rose 0.82 points, or 0.34 per cent, to finish higher at 242.85 points. Investors poured nearly VNĐ1.8 trillion into the bourse, equivalent to a trading volume of 84.57 million shares. 

Foreign investors continued to be net sellers, net selling a total of nearly VNĐ1.97 trillion on both exchanges. — VNS