A stockbroker shows stock prices to an investor at a brokerage
in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Khoa. 

The VN-Index added 1.65 percent to reach 760.33 points Thursday, led by blue chips and mid-cap stocks. 

238 stocks gained and 121 lost on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based. Total trading volume surged 15 percent over the previous session to VND4.4 trillion ($186.85 million), with order-matched transactions accounting for 85 percent.

The VN-Index had surged to nearly 762 points in the first hour after the exchange opened before moderating slightly by the end of the trading day.

The VN30 index for HoSE’s 30 biggest market caps added 0.97 percent this session, with 17 gaining and 7 losing.

Gains were led by ROS of real estate developer FLC Faros, GAS of energy giant PetroVietnam Gas, and SSI of brokerage SSI securities, which surged 7 percent, 6.9 percent and 6.9 percent respectively. All three tickers hit their ceiling prices.

Other than GAS, two other blue chips in oil and gas also surged, with PLX of petroleum distributor Petrolimex adding 4.2 percent and POW of Vietnam’s second biggest electricity generator, 2 percent.

Investors were optimistic about the outcome of a meeting between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia scheduled to take place Thursday, aiming to end the ongoing price war and lift oil prices, analysts said.

Banking stocks were a mixed bag with four gaining and three losing. VCB of Vietcombank and CTG of VietinBank, two of Vietnam’s biggest state-owned lenders by assets, added 5.2 percent and 0.5 percent respectively, while TCB of Techcombank and MBB of Military Bank, both mid-sized lenders, rose 1.2 percent and 0.6 percent respectively.  

In the red were STB of Sacombank, down 1 percent, BID of state-owned banking giant BIDV, down 0.7 percent, and VPB of VPBank, down 0.5 percent.

Other major gainers this session included VRE of mall operator Vincom Retail, up 5.3 percent, PNJ of Phu Nhuan Jewelry, 4.2 percent, and VJC of budget carrier Vietjet Air, 3 percent.

Leading losses this session were VHM of real estate developer Vinhomes, down 1.4 percent, MWG of electronics retailer Mobile World, also 1.4 percent, and BVH of insurance giant Bao Viet Group, 1.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, Vietnam’s second main bourse for small and midcap stocks, rose 1.11 percent; while the UPCoM-Index for unlisted public companies fell added 0.85 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers on all three bourses to the tune of VND330 billion ($14.01 million), with selling pressure mostly on VIC of Vingroup and POW of PetroVietnam Power.