HÀ NỘI – Shares rose further on both local markets on Wednesday as investors looked for opportunities in other stocks rather than large-caps.

The benchmark VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange edged up 0.19 per cent to close at 882.59 points. It recovered after having dipped as much as 0.5 per cent during the morning session.

The southern market index has extended its rally for a ninth straight day, growing a total of nearly 6 per cent.

The HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange gained 0.39 per cent to end at 107.48 points. The northern market index has increased by 2.5 per cent in the last six sessions.

Nearly 237 million shares were traded on the two exchanges, worth VNĐ7.18 trillion (US$319 million).

The trading figures declined by 11 per cent in volume and 26 per cent in value compared to Tuesday.

Across the two local exchanges, gaining stocks outnumbered losers by 262 to 188 while 108 ended flat.

Foreign investors remained net buyers, posting net buy value of VNĐ152 billion, 23.6 per cent below the previous session.

Pharmaceutical shares were the best performers on Wednesday as the sector was driven up by popular brands such as Domesco Medical Import-Export Corp (DMC), Hà Tây Pharmaceutical JSC (DHT) and DHG Pharmaceutical JSC (DHG).

Plastic producers also performed well on the announcement of the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) that it would sell parts of the State’s capital in Bình Minh Plastic Co (BMP) and Tiền Phong Plastic Co (NTP) in 2017.

Other industries that also posted good growth rates included retail, rubber production and processing, construction and building materials and real estate.

On the opposite side, some large-cap stocks were hit by strong profit-taking such as the largest retailer Vincom Retail (VRE), Bank for Investment and Development of Việt Nam (BID), Vietcombank (VCB) and PetroVietnam Gas (GAS).

Among those stocks, VRE had gained 16 per cent in seven sessions after debuting on November 6; BID had moved up 3.4 per cent in three days; VCB and GAS had made two-day gains of 1.6 per cent and 4.1 per cent.

Sài Gòn-Hà Nội Securities (SHS) said in its daily report that cash flow was spreading among shares on the market instead of focusing on large-caps, giving investors better opportunities to earn.

However, as the benchmark index has climbed and remained above the 880-point level for the last two sessions, profit-taking will increase and put the market in a short-term correction soon, SHS said. – VNS