An investor conducts a transaction at the SSI Securities office. Shares of the firm rose over 2.9 per cent on Thursday, supporting the market's gain. — Photo ssi.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — Shares advanced on Thursday, with the VN-Index gaining nearly 13 points as buying spread across the market and securities stocks emerged as the main focus of trading.

The benchmark VN-Index, representing the Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HoSE), closed at 1,822.77 points, while the HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) gained 0.68 points to 273.9 points. 

Total trading liquidity across the two main exchanges reached over VNĐ18.8 trillion (US$722.8 million).

Market breadth tilted firmly towards buyers, with 282 stocks advancing and 174 declining. 

The increase came after the US Federal Reserve announced a 0.25 percentage-point interest rate increase, its first hike in three years. Despite the decision, domestic trading remained active, with gains extending across several major sectors.

Securities stocks were among the strongest performers, as they attracted substantial cash flows.

SSI Securities (SSI) rose 2.9 per cent and VIX Securities (VIX) gained 1.6 per cent. Both were among the most actively traded stocks, with matched volumes of over 41 million and 39 million shares, respectively.

Other securities stocks, including Vietcap Securities (VCI), VNDirect Securities (VND) and SHS Securities (SHS), also recorded solid gains accompanied by high liquidity.

Banking stocks traded positively, with VPBank (VPB), Military Bank (MBB), Vietcombank (VCB), TPBank (TPB) and BIDV (BID) among the gainers. Of these, VPB was the biggest contributor to the market, adding one point to the benchmark index. 

Property stocks also performed well. Dat Xanh Group (DXG), Khang Dien House (KDH), CEO Group (CEO) and Hoang Huy Investment Financial Services (TCH) rose by around 2–3 per cent. Vingroup (VIC) was unchanged, while Vinhomes (VHM) edged up 0.42 per cent.

Energy stocks moved in the opposite direction, with the sector index falling 0.61 per cent, making it the weakest-performing group during the session.

PV Drilling (PVD) lost 2.3 per cent, Petrolimex (PLX) declined 1.05 per cent, PV Oil (OIL) dropped nearly 4 per cent and PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS) retreated 2.92 per cent. PVC fell 3.79 per cent, while PetroVietnam Gas (GAS) declined 0.89 per cent.

The performance represented a reversal from the previous session, when oil and gas stocks had provided significant support to the broader market.

Foreign investors, meanwhile, remained net sellers despite the broader market advance. Their net selling value reached VNĐ372 billion on HoSE and VNĐ33.56 billion on HNX. The VIC-VHM pair recorded combined foreign net selling of VNĐ370 billion. — BIZHUB/VNS