One of Masan Group's stalls in a supermarket. The company shares posted the biggest gain in market capitalisation yesterday, up 4.52 per cent. — Photo masangroup.com

HÀ NỘI — Stocks extended their rally on Wednesday as the appeal of materials and real estate stock persisted. 

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the market benchmark VN-Index rose 0.43 per cent to 1,191.44 points. The market breadth was positive as 222 stocks increased while 207 stocks declined. 

The index returned to the 1,190 point-level after last week's correction. And the market's move was in line with expectations from analysts.

"The VN-Index is forecasted to test the resistance territory of 1,190 - 1,200 points in the few next sessions," Trần Xuân Bách, a senior investment analyst from Bảo Việt Securities Co., wrote in a daily report to customers. 

However, the index might face corrections as it is going up, Bách added. He recommended that investors should rise stock proportions in their portfolios to 50 - 65 per cent. Regarding investors with a cash-rich position, they might consider disbursing a part of short-term positions in correcting sessions.

The market's liquidity was still high yesterday as local investors poured nearly VNĐ14.61 trillion into the southern bourse, equivalent to a trading amount of over 703.08 million shares. 

The gains in large-cap stocks were the driving force for the market. The large-cap tracker VN30-Index climbed 0.45 per cent to close Wednesday's trade at 1,196.24 points. In the VN30 basket, 17 stocks inched higher while 10 stocks fell and three ended flat. 

Materials, real estate and construction stocks contributed the most to the market's gain yesterday. Of the top five stocks leading the market rally, Masan Group Corporation (MSN) posted the biggest gain in market capitalisation, up 4.52 per cent. Followed by Vinhomes JSC (VHM) and Saigon Beer - Alcohol - Beverage Corporation (SAB), up 1.04 per cent and 2.86 per cent, respectively. 

Vingroup JSC (VIC) and SeABank (SSB) still recorded outstanding performance with SSB shares continuing to hit the biggest daily gain of 7 per cent since they debuted.

The market's rally was capped by losses in some large-cap stocks like Vietnam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk, VNM), Vietnam Rubber Group - JSC (GVR), Vietjet Aviation JSC (VJC) and Vietinbank (CTG). VNM lost the most in market capitalisation yesterday, down 0.81 per cent. 

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index also finished higher on Wednesday, up 1.97 per cent to 288.67 points. The HNX30-Index, tracking the 30 biggest stocks in the northern market, rose 1.48 per cent to 421.61 points. 

During the session, nearly 214 million shares were traded on HNX, worth over VNĐ3.4 trillion. 

On the other hand, foreign investors were net sellers on both exchanges. Accordingly, they net sold a value of VNĐ211.51 billion on the southern bourse and a value of VNĐ23.18 billon on HNX. 

However, they net bought a value of VNĐ1.86 billion on UPCOM. In general, they net sold a value of VNĐ232.83 billion. — VNS