Outside of the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE). The benchmark VN-Index gained slightly on Friday, driven by the petroleum sector. — Photo hsx.vn

HA NOI Vietnamese shares rallied for the fifth straight session on Friday, propped up by strong gains by oil and gas stocks.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange inched up 0.08 per cent to end at 976.48 points.

More than 135 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth VNĐ3.1 trillion (US$136 million).

The index inched up 0.01 per cent on Thursday to end at 975.69 points.

The large-cap VN30-Index slumped 0.16 per cent to stand at 890.53 points with 14 stocks out of the 30 largest by market capitalisation losing value.

Insurance, securities, oil and gas, logistics and construction were among the best-performing industries.

Their indices rose by between 0.04 and 0.94 per cent, data on vietstock.vn showed.

The oil and gas sector had a good session to support the overall market. Gainers in the group included PetroVietnam Gas JSC (GAS), PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corporation (PVD), PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS).

Stocks contributing to the upward momentum including brewery Sabeco (SAB), FLC Faros Construction Joint Stock Company (ROS), PetroVietnam Power Corporation (POW), Việt Nam National Petroleum Group (PLX) and Tiền Phong Bank (TPB).

On the opposite side, real estate, banking, food and beverage, agriculture and construction materials were among the falling sectors.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index decreased by 0.28 per cent to close at 105.79 points.

Nearly 35 million shares were traded on the northern bourse, worth VNĐ392 billion.

The index edged down 0.32 per cent to 106.09 points on Thursday.

Foreign investors changed course after four straight net-selling sessions this week.

They net-bought a total of VNĐ9.87 billion on the HOSE, focusing on VRE (VNĐ39.06 billion), SSI (VNĐ16.04 billion) and PLX (VNĐ7.51 billion). However, they sold a net value of VNĐ15.61 billion on the HNX.

According to Bảo Việt Securities Company, the market is expected to maintain its rally and rise to the resistance zone of 980-983 points early next week before experiencing larger fluctuations toward the weekend.

The market needs to quickly pass this zone to head toward a stronger resistance zone at 993-1,000 points, BVSC said. However, if the market does not pass the 980-983 point zone quickly enough, supply pressure may rebound and cause market losses.

“As the market has not been able to pass the 980-983-point resistance zone, we leave open the possibility that the market’s recent gains are only technical,” BVSC said in its daily report.

Stock exposure, therefore, should be limited at 35 to 45 per cent of the portfolio. As the market has diverged wildly among stock groups, investors should consider carefully before buying. — VNS