A chilled pork production line at Masan MEATLife in Hà Nam Province, a subsidiary of Masan Group. Shares of the food processing conglomerate led the market on Friday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The market closed Friday’s session on a positive note, with many stocks witnessing significant gains, while liquidity remained at low levels.

The VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) finished at 1,242.11 points, up 8.92 points, or 0.72 per cent.

Throughout most of the day, the VN-Index traded above the reference level, maintaining a relatively stable range and closing the session higher.

The market's breadth was positive as the number of gainers surpassed that of losers by 221 to 91. Liquidity on the southern bourse remained low, increasing slightly by 1.1 per cent compared to the previous session, reaching VNĐ11.8 trillion (US$465.4 million), equivalent to a trading volume of nearly 458 million shares.

The VN30-Index, which tracks the 30 biggest stocks on the HoSE, also increased by 9.66 points, or 0.76 per cent, to finish at 1,281.84 points. In the VN30 basket, 22 stocks ticked up while three inched down and five ended flat.

Data compiled by the financial website vietstock.vn showed that Masan Group Corporation (MSN) was the biggest gainer on the market and led in terms of capitalisation. Shares of the food and beverage manufacturer led the market on Friday, rising by 4.23 per cent, contributing more than one point to the VN-Index gain.

Following closely was FPT Corporation (FPT), with the tech conglomerate’s shares increasing by 2.4 per cent, also contributing more than one point to the VN-Index.

Another notable gainer on Friday was Vietnam Airlines JSC (HVN), with the national airline's shares breaking a streak of sharp declines, rising by 3.47 per cent.

However, some large-cap stocks still faced strong sell-offs. Notably, Fortune Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank (LPB) posted a decrease of 3.29 per cent, contributing to a loss of nearly 0.6 points in the VN-Index, leading the market’s decliners.

Following was Vincom Retail Joint Stock Company (VRE), down by 2.03 per cent; NoVa Land Investment Group Corporation (NVL), falling by 2.21 per cent; and FPT Digital Retail Joint Stock Company (FRT), which dropped by 1.69 per cent.

According to analysts from Việt Dragon Securities, in spite of the slight market recovery, liquidity remained low, similar to the previous session, indicating high hesitation from investors. It is likely that the market will continue to fluctuate and probe in the next trading session, but the current low demand may pose a risk of weakening the market in the near future. Therefore, investors should remain cautious amid the market's instability and maintain a safe portfolio allocation.

The Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) index also finished higher on Friday, rising by 0.6 per cent to 236.66 points.

During the session, more than VNĐ797 billion worth of shares were traded, equivalent to a trading volume of nearly 36.8 million shares on the northern market.

Foreign investors showed net buying activity on Friday, purchasing more than VNĐ388 billion on the HoSE. — VNS