HÀ NỘI – Shares extended gains on the HCM Stock Exchange on Friday, concluding the week with positive results for all five sessions.

The benchmark VN-Index increased 0.62 per cent to close at 820.95 points, expanding weekly gains to 1.6 per cent.

Large caps continued to be major supporter of the market, with 19 of the top 30 largest shares by market value and liquidity advancing and only nine declining.

Big gainers included PV Gas (GAS),  Masan Group (MSN), VinGroup (VIC), brewer Sabeco (SAB), PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services (PVD), Military Bank (MBB) and Vinamilk (VNM).

Sabeco was the biggest gainer, up 2.3 per cent; followed by VinGroup at 1.8 per cent; PV Gas and Masan Group, both up 1.6 per cent; while others increased by around 1 per cent.

However, wide divergence in major stocks was still clear. Insurer Bảo Việt Holdings (BVH), Eximbank (EIB), Sacombank (STB), Kido Group (KDC), steelmaker Hòa Phát Group (HPG) and Hoa Sen Group (HSG) tumbled yesterday.

“The market’s uptrend in recent sessions was mostly attributable to the positive movement of large-cap stocks,” Trần Hải Yến, a stock analyst at Bảo Việt Securities Co, wrote in a daily report yesterday.

Yến said the money flow focusing on large caps and high selling pressure on mid-cap stocks were not positive signals for the general market trend.

“The market is forecast to see a slight downtrend with a wide divergence in the next session,” Yến said.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index edged up 0.67 per cent to end at 109.11 points. The northern market index decreased 0.25 per cent on Thursday.

Liquidity decreased slightly for a second day with the total volume reaching 196.5 million worth a combined VNĐ3.9 trillion (US$171.8 million) being traded in the two markets, down 1 per cent in volume and 17 per cent in value compared to Thursday.

According to Sài Gòn-Hà Nội Securities Co, the index rising accompanied by declining liquidity indicated increased investor caution. In fact, selling pressure began to increase when the VN-Index touched the daily peak at 818 points.  

“The market’s uptrend will be challenged in the coming session,” they said but added that the positive factor was the return of foreign traders as net buyers in HCM City’s market after a prolonged net selling streak.

Foreign investors continued to be net buyers in HCM City’s market for a total of VNĐ51.4 billion in the last two sessions. However, they remained net sellers in Hà Nội with net value of nearly VNĐ18 billion. – VNS