Gas tanks stored at PetroVietnam Gas South, a member of PetroVietnam Gas Corporation (GAS). The company's shares gained 3.4 per cent on Friday. — Photo courtesy of GAS

HÀ NỘI -  Shares gained for six consecutive sessions on Friday thanks to buying focusing on energy stocks and some individual blue-chips, boosting indices despite strong selling of foreign investors.

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index gained 0.72 per cent, to hit 1,374.05 points.

It had risen 5.4 per cent during the last five trading sessions.

The market breadth was positive with 224 stocks climbing, while 193 stocks fell and 44 ended flat.

The liquidity was noticeably high as local investors poured VNĐ31.3 trillion (US$1.35 million) into the southern market, equivalent to a trading volume of nearly 943 million shares.

Huge cash flow was injected into large-cap stocks, propelling the market’s uptrend. Among the most notable gainers were Vincom Retail (VRE), soaring by 5 per cent.

Phát Đạt Real Estate (PDR) and insurer Bảo Việt Holdings (BVH) were both rising by 4 per cent. Masan Group (MSN), Vingroup (VIC) and Tiên Phong Bank (TPB) were the ones that gained over 2 per cent.

Energy stocks also attracted cash flow with many gainers such as Việt Nam National Petroleum Group (PLX), PVPower (POW), PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS), PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corporation (PVD), Drilling Mud Joint Stock Corporation (PVC) and PetroVietnam Gas JSC (GAS).

In contrast, Sacombank (STB), Vietcombank (VCB), Khang Điền House (KDH), Thành Thành Công Biên Hoà (SBT) performed poorly as they lost more than 1 per cent.

The VN30-Index, which tracks the 30 biggest stocks on HoSE, increased 0.26 per cent to finish Friday at 1,508.35 points.

Of the VN30 basket, 15 stocks increased while 15 dropped.

“The VN-Index mainly fluctuated around the reference level from early morning to early afternoon but then gradually increased and now surpassed the threshold of 1,370 points,” said BIDV Securities Co.

“Foreign investors were still net selling on both HoSE and HNX. In addition, market breadth moved to equilibrium with increased liquidity compared to the previous session. According to our assessment, VN-Index may move to a short-term correction in the next trading week,” it said.

Foreign investors net sold VNĐ1,487.75 billion on HOSE, including Military Bank (MBB) (VNĐ509.8 billion) and steel maker Hoà Phát Group (HPG) (VNĐ427.7 billion). They were net sellers on the HNX with a value of VNĐ44.99 billion.

On Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index declined 0.05 per cent to close Friday at 329.76 points.

It had risen 2.45 per cent to close Thursday at 329.95 points.

During the session, over 209 million shares were traded on the northern market, worth over VNĐ4.7 trillion. — VNS