Gas bottles being filled at the PetroVietnam Gas JSC (GAS) in the southern province of Cần Thơ. GAS hit the daily limit gain of 7 per cent on Thursday. — VNA/VNS Photo Hà Thái

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese shares advanced for seven straight sessions on Thursday thanks to good performance of banking and energy stocks.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange increased 1.65 per cent to end the trading session at 760.33 points, totalling a seven-session gain of 14.8 per cent.

The VN-Index inched up 0.18 per cent to end Wednesday at 748.02 points.

Nearly 298.5 million shares were traded on the southern exchange, worth VNĐ4.4 trillion (US$186.9 million).

The large-cap tracker VN30-Index gained 0.97 per cent to close Thursday’s session at 697.85 points.

In the VN30 basket, 17 of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation and trading liquidity gained ground while eight declined. Five stayed unchanged.

The stock market was driven by strong gains in energy and mining stocks after global oil prices picked up in Wednesday's overnight trading.

US crude rose 4.58 per cent to $26.24 a barrel. Brent crude rose 2.5 per cent to $33.71 per barrel.

Among local energy stocks, PetroVietnam Gas JSC (GAS) jumped 7 per cent while others such as PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services (PVD) and PetroVietnam Technical Services (PVS) soared 4.7 per cent and 3.4 per cent.

There was also a boost from the banking stocks group, with gainers including Vietcombank, Vietinbank, Techcombank, VPBank, Military Bank. They all increased between 0.5 and 5.2 per cent.

According to Trần Xuân Bách, a stock analyst at Bảo Việt Securities Co, VN-Index is maintaining a positive recovery toward 780-820 points in the short term.

“However, various stocks with impressive increases this week have approached important resistance,” Bách said.

“The index may possibly face profit-taking and correction pressure in upcoming sessions. The stock market still faces difficulties from foreign investors’ net selling pressure.”

On Thursday, foreign investors were the net sellers of VNĐ290.98 billion on Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange and VNĐ16.49 billion on Hà Nội Stock Exchange.

“Q1 business results and macroeconomics statistics expectantly published in April may also place negative impacts on market movements. Profits of listed companies in Q1 may be below expectation under the influence of COVID-19 pandemic,” Bách said.

“Stock exposure should be maintained at 20-25 per cent of the portfolio. Investors may consider taking profit part of short-term positions during tomorrow trading session.”

The HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange climbed 1.1 per cent to close Thursday at 105.08 points.

The northern market index increased 0.49 per cent to close Wednesday at 103.93 points.

More than 57.3 million shares were traded on the northern bourse, worth VNĐ631 billion. — VNS