A production plant of the PetroVietnam Cà Mau Fertiliser (HoSE: DCM). — Photo tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese shares finished Monday on a positive note as fertiliser companies increased strongly, lifting the mid-cap sector.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange rose 0.31 per cent to end at 871.28 points, extending its growth from last week’s total gain of 0.58 per cent.

Fertiliser producers boosted the local market on Monday. The petrochemicals and plastics sector index was up 2.1 per cent – the highest among 25 indices, according to vietstock.vn.

Leading companies in the fertiliser industry were upbeat.

Shares of the Southern Fertiliser (SFG), Văn Điển Fused Magnesium Phosphate Fertiliser (VAF), PetroVietnam Cà Mau Fertiliser (DCM), Bình Điền Fertiliser (BFC), and PetroVietnam Fertiliser and Chemicals (DPM) soared between 5.3 per cent and 7 per cent.

Other mid-cap stocks were also active, driving the mid-cap tracker up 0.88 per cent to 906.60 points.

Other sectors that also performed well included retail, rubber, mining and energy, food and beverage, and logistics and transportation.

Large-cap firms also supported the market as the blue-chip tracker VN30-Index inched up 0.21 per cent to nearly 810 points at the end of the day.

Eleven of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation and trading liquidity in the VN30 basket advanced while 14 declined.

More than 350.3 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth VNĐ2.15 trillion (US$92.6 million), with 94 per cent of the shares being traded in order-matching transactions.

According to Thành Công Securities Co (TCSC), the market progressed slightly as some of the large-cap stocks performed well and investors kept seeking opportunities in mid-cap and small-cap stocks, which may indicate the market is running out of gaining momentum.

The local market has met its balance point and stocks are being divided because of their second-quarter earnings prospects, the company said in its daily report.

The VN-Index is likely to struggle with alternate ups and downs in coming days with stocks being kept differentiating, TCSC said.

Sài Gòn-Hà Nội Securities Co (SHS) said the VN-Index may post big gain if liquidity surges in the next days.

“The VN30 futures is still 12 points below the VN30-Index’s close, which means investors believe the market will decline in the short term,” SHS said.

“The market may trade positive in the next days but it needs more time for consolidation.”

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the minor HNX-Index fell 0.55 per cent to end Monday at 114.72 points.

The northern market index dropped total 1.32 per cent last week.

Nearly 61.5 million shares were traded on the northern market, worth VNĐ580.2 billion. — VNS