Traders work at a trading office of VIX Securities. The firm's shares hit the biggest daily gain of 7 per cent on Wednesday, lifting the market's sentiment. — Photo courtesy of the company

HÀ NỘI — Market surged again on Wednesday, lifting the VN-Index to its highest closing level in about four months, as risk-on sentiment gathered momentum across multiple large-cap groups.

On the Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index added 16.35 points, or 0.87 per cent, to reach 1,891.2, the highest close since the end of January. The index was therefore about 10 points, less than 1 per cent, away from the all-time high of 1,902 based on closing prices.

The market breadth on HoSE showed a clear swing to buyers, with 202 stocks rising, close to double the number of decliners.

While the broad market advanced decisively, analysts flagged a near-term technical risk around the psychological 1,900 mark.

The 1,900 points is a crucial resistance threshold because it is likely to spark profit-taking pressure, said the equity research team at ACB Securities.

The divergence was even sharper within the large-cap basket, where 24 names were higher, compared with just three declining. The VN30-Index, tracking the 30 biggest stocks on HoSE, closed at 2,053.41 points, up 21.11 points, or 1.04 per cent.

Liquidity on HoSE also improved, increasing from the previous session to over VNĐ23.8 trillion (US$905 million), equal to a trading volume of 875.2 million shares.

Securities were the most upbeat sector. All securities stocks finished in positive territory on the reference price framework. VIX Securities (VIX) and Ho Chi Minh Securities (HCM) both hit the ceiling price, while several major names such as SSI Securities (SSI), Vietcap Securities (VCI), Techcom Securities (TCX), VPBank Securities (VPX) and VPS Securities (VCK) gained roughly 2-4 per cent.

The rally came after FTSE Russell updated its list of 29 stocks meeting the criteria to be added to the FTSE Global All Index, along with a number of institutions forecasting that Việt Nam may be placed on a watchlist for an MSCI upgrade in the next review cycle.

Banking also improved, though with a comparatively tighter upside than the brokerage group.

By contrast, Novaland (NVL) continued to face heavy selling pressure after two consecutive floor-down sessions, with the stock reported down a further 4 per cent.

Oil and gas showed weaker performance overall, attributed to fluctuations in global oil prices.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index rebounded today, finishing at 248.46 points. It gained over 1 point, or 0.42 per cent.

Foreign investors continued to send negative signals, extending net selling to a tenth consecutive trading session. They net-sold more than VNĐ1.1 trillion on HoSE and VNĐ2.1 billion on HNX. — BIZHUB/VNS