HÀ NỘI – Shares concluded a winning week on the HCM Stock Exchange with the benchmark VN-Index adding 0.2 per cent to close Friday at 935.57 points.

Large-cap stocks continue to provide energy for the market’s upward trend: 18 of the top 30 largest shares by market value and liquidity here advanced and only nine declined.

Leading gainers included food and beverage companies, such as brewer Sabeco (SAB) and Habeco (BHN), each rising over 3 per cent; confectionery Kido Group (KDC) and sugar maker Thành Thành Công Tây Ninh JSC (SBT), each up 1 per cent; Vinamilk (VNM), up 0.1 per cent and steelmaker Hòa Phát Group (HPG), up 2.4 per cent.

Notably, however, cash flow began to gradually spread to small- and medium-cap stocks.

“Green color dominated the market with the number of increasing stocks doubling that of decreasing ones (187-96), especially in sectors such as real estate (except for VinGroup) and construction, while the picture was more divided in the banking and securities sectors,” BIDV Securities Co (BSC) wrote in a report yesterday.

Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corp (REE) and Đất Xanh Real Estate Service & Construction Corp (DXG) both hit the daily limit rise of 7 per cent, while Hoàng Quân Consulting-Trading-Service Real Estate (HQC) rallied 3.5 per cent and Hòa Bình Construction Group (HBC) rose 2.3 per cent.

Despite the significant drop at the morning trade, VN-Index still increased slightly by the end of the session, which proved that the market maintained momentum, though it was not as strong as before, BSC’s report said.

Big losers yesterday included VinGroup (VIC), down 2.6 per cent; Vincom Retail (VRE), down 2.7 per cent and Vietcombank (VCB) and Vietinbank (CTG), each dropping around 1 per cent.

According to Trần Đức Anh, a stock analyst at Bảo Việt Securities Company, increasing profit-taking pressure in large-cap stocks triggered a high risk of a short-term correction for these stocks. However, as cash flows into mid-cap and penny stocks, a divergence may still be seen next week.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index rose for a third day, adding 0.59 per cent to end at 110.83 points.

A total of over 289 million shares worth a combined VNĐ7.3 trillion (US$320.2 million) was traded in the market, down 5.3 per cent in trading volume but up 10.6 per cent in terms of the value of transactions compared to the previous session.

Foreign investors were net sellers on both exchanges yesterday, responsible for a combined net value of VNĐ117 billion. – VNS