On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based, 297 stocks rose while 90 fell, 58 of them hitting their ceiling prices, the highest they could go in a session. 

Investors remained cautious with total trading slightly down from the previous session, reaching VND3.47 trillion ($145.48 million), with order-matched transactions accounted for 76.6 percent. 

The VN30 for HoSE’s 30 biggest market caps also surged 3.24 percent, with 29 tickers in the basket gaining and one closing at opening price. Seven closed at their ceiling prices.

Leading gainers were BVH of insurance giant Bao Viet Group and CTD of construction firm Coteccons, both up 7 percent.

The other five, which all added 6.9 percent, were BID of state-owned lender BIDV, STB of private Sacombank, SSI of brokerage Saigon Securities Inc., ROS of real estate developer FLC Faros and MWG of electronics retailer Mobile World. 

The trio of shares related to Vingroup, Vietnam’s biggest private conglomerate and HoSE’s biggest market cap, were also among the big gainers. VIC of parent corporation Vingroup rose 5.8 percent, VHM of subsidiary Vinhomes 5.3 percent, and VRE of retail arm Vincom Retail 1.3 percent. 

Oil and gas stocks continued to post strong gains with GAS of energy giant PetroVietnam Gas adding 5.5 percent, POW of electricity generator PetroVietnam Power 4.6 percent, and PLX of petroleum distributor Petrolimex up 2.6 percent. 

After the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic caused an oil glut that drove oil prices down to their lowest in the last 18 years, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent Crude surged again on Thursday by 24.7 percent and 21.5 percent, respectively. 

On the HoSE, other major gainers this session included PNJ of Phu Nhuan Jewelry, up 6.8 percent, MSN of food conglomerate Masan Group, 6.3 percent, FPT of IT services giant FPT, 5.4 percent, and several tickers of mid-sized banks on the VN30. 

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, Vietnam’s second main bourse for small and midcap stocks, increased 3.16 percent, while the UPCoM-Index for unlisted public companies added 1.05 percent. 

Foreign investors continued to be sellers on all three bourses to the tune of VND491 billion ($20.59 million), with selling pressure mostly on VIC of Vingroup and VRE of Vincom Retail.