Masan workers on a production line. MSN stocks hit ceiling prices on Thursday, backing market reversal. — Photo vietnambiz.vn

As bulls and bears entered a tug-of-war, the benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) rose by 0.88 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 1,241.64 points.

The market’s breadth stood considerably negative as advancers were dwarfed by decliners. Notably, 294 stocks advanced while 519 declined.

The market’s liquidity was low with only 460 million stocks traded on the southern bourse, equivalent to around VND11.6 trillion (US$502 million).

Buying forces were not strong enough to lift blue chips. The 30 biggest stock tracker VN30-Index lost 2.86 points, or 0.22 per cent, to end at 1,283.55 points. In the basket, decliners outnumbered advancers by 18 to eight.

Among ten stocks propping up the market, Masan Group (MSN) was the largest gainer, hitting the ceiling prices. Other stocks that fueled market reversal included Duc Giang Chemicals (DGC), Sai Gon-Ha Noi Commercial Bank (SHB), Viglacera Corporation (VGC), Refrigeration Electrical Engineering (REE), and Petro Vietnam Ca Mau Fertiliser (DCM).

By sector, mining and oil were the main contributors to the market pick-up. Specifically, Petro Vietnam Drilling and Well Services (PVD) touched the 7-per-cent ceiling and Petro Vietnam Technical Services (PVS) gained by 5.2 per cent.

The market was also backed by food and drink stocks with Masan Group (MSN) being the largest backer. The stock was followed by Sai Gon Beer Alcohol Beverage (SAB) with an increase of 0.87 per cent.

In the realty sector, the trio stocks of the Vin family – Vingroup (VIC), Vincom Retail (VRE) and Vinhomes (VHM) – closed mixed with the first falling, the second staying flat and the third climbing. Other big names including No Va Land (NVL), Phat Dat Real Estate (PDR) and Sunshine Homes Development saw red on the screen.

Banking stocks also painted a mixed picture as some stocks, like Vietcombank (VCB), Military Bank (MBB) and Sai Gon-Ha Noi Commercial Bank (SHB), went up whereas others, including Bank for Investment and Development (BID), Techcombank (TCB) and VPBank (VPB), fell.

In contrast to the VN-Index, the HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) lose 1.82 points, or 0.59 per cent, to 308.02 points.

Foreign investors withdrew from the market as they net sold a total of VND129.37 billion on the two main exchanges. Of which, they net sold VND125.55 billion on HoSE and VND3.82 billion on HNX.