The index remained the green most of the day and closed with a 4-point gain. It has gained nearly 2 percent this week and 14.7 percent since the beginning of the year.

Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, rose nearly 2 percent to VND22 trillion ($959 million). The figure has stayed above VND20 trillion in the last nine sessions.

Foreign investors were net sellers for the fourth session in a row to the tune of VND1.6 trillion, the highest since April 9, with strongest pressure on HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group and CTG of state-owned lender VietinBank.

The VN30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 22 gainers led by MSN of conglomerate Masan Group, rising 5 percent to a new peak.

The increase came with news of the conglomerate considering options to raise up to $1 billion in its feed unit MeatLife Corp.

The ticker pushed the index up by nearly 1.6 points this session, followed by VPB of private lender VPBank with a near 1-point contribution.

VPB gained 2.3 percent to a new peak, its fifth session in the green. The ticker is one of the best performing banking stocks with a 205 percent gain this year.

Other strong contributors to VN-Index’s gain this session include SSB of Southeast Asia Commercial Bank (SeABank), TCB of the largest private lender Techcombank and CTG.

On the losing side, VIC of biggest private conglomerate Vingroup pulled the index down by 1.08 points and GAS of state-owned Petrovietnam Gas, 0.76 points.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, rose 2.68 percent while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market fell 0.21 percent.