A production line of brewery company Sabeco (SAB). — Photo courtesy of SABECO

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese markets extended gains and ended higher on Thursday, thanks largely to rises in food and beverage and IT shares.

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index rose 0.57 per cent to close the trading session at 1,216.36 points.

Nearly 570.4 million shares were traded on the southern exchange, worth VNĐ14.4 trillion (US$566.8 million).

The 30 biggest stocks tracker VN30-Index climbed 0.54 per cent to 1,247.21 points.

Nineteen stocks of the VN30 basket posted positive performance, while nine slid and two ended flat.

Data compiled by financial news site vietstock.vn showed that cash flow was moving into food and beverage stocks.

The food and beverage sector experienced significant gains, with several companies in the industry witnessing increased investor interest and robust trading activity, it said. Notable gainers were Vinamilk (VNM), up 0.6 per cent, Brewery company Sabeco (SAB), up 4 per cent and consumer staple firm Masan Group Corporation (MSN), up 1.2 per cent.

Similarly, the IT sector saw a notable uptick. Companies involved in software development, digital services, and technology infrastructure witnessed substantial buying interest, contributing to the overall market's upward momentum. They included FPT Corporation (FPT) and Mobile World Group (MWG), up 3.3 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively.

Steel stocks also gained strongly at the end of the session. Some notable stocks like Hoa Sen Group (HSG) and Nam Kim Group (NKG) both moved up.

Some sectors posted losses and put pressure on the overall market. Oil and gas stocks dropped, with losers being PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corporation (PVD), Petrochemical and Bio-Fuel JSC (PVB) and PetroVietnam Construction Co JSC (PVC).

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index 227.49 points, up 0.3 per cent.

During the session, over 47 million shares were traded on the bourse, worth over VNĐ972 billion. — VNS