An investor looks at stock prices on a smartphone at a brokerage in Ho Chi Minh City.
Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran. 

The VN-Index gained 0.62 percent to 847.61 points Friday, with liquidity remaining at its lowest level since early May. 

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, saw 197 stocks gain and 167 stocks lose. Total trading volume continued to sink for the fourth consecutive trading session, reaching VND3.56 trillion ($152.83 million), down nearly 10 percent over the previous session.

The VN30-Index for the stock market’s 30 largest capped stocks added 0.54 percent, with 18 stocks gaining and seven losing.

Topping gains was HDB of private HDBank, up 5.3 percent, SAB of major brewer Sabeco, up 2.6 percent, and REE of appliances maker Refrigerated Electrical Engineering, up 2.6 percent.

Most real estate and construction stocks performed positively this session. NVL of Novaland and VHM of Vinhomes, both real estate developers, rose 2 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively, while CTD of construction giant Coteccons edging up 0.3 percent after two consecutive sessions to hit its ceiling price.

ROS of real estate developer FLC Faros, the smallest capped stock on the VN30, retained its opening price this session.

Of Vietnam’s three biggest private lenders by assets, VCB of Viecombank rose 0.5 percent, BID of BIDV added 0.3 percent, and CTG kept its opening price. MBB of mid-sized state-owned Military Bank also retained its opening figure.

EIB of Eximbank and TCB of Techcombank were the other private bank stocks to gain this session, having risen 0.8 percent and 0.3 percent.

VIC of private conglomerate Vingroup, HoSE’s biggest cap, rose 0.3 percent, while VRE of its retail arm Vincom Retail added 1.1 percent.

In the opposite direction, BVH of insurance giant Bao Viet Group topped losses with 0.9 percent, followed by two private banks, VPB of VPBank, and STB of Sacombank, which lost 0.7 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

The other losing tickers were HPG of leading steelmaker Hoa Phat Group, down 0.4 percent, GAS of energy giant PetroVietnam Gas, down 0.3 percent, PNJ of jewelry retailer Phu Nhuan Jewelry, down 0.2 percent, and MWG of electronics retailer Mobile World, with 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index for stocks on Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, edged down 0.05 percent, while the UPCoM-Index for stocks on the Unlisted Public Companies Market added 0.66 percent.

Foreign investors turned net buyers to the tune of VND150 billion ($6.45 million) on all three bourses, with buying pressure mostly on PLX of petroleum distributor Petrolimex, which rose 1 percent, and VHM of Vinhomes.