The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index, saw 234 stocks gain and 199 stocks lose. Total trading volume rose over 10 percent compared to the previous session, hitting a record VND14.32 trillion ($623.68 million).

HoSE has never seen trading volume at this level before. Between 2018 and 2019, liquidity of an average trading day on the HoSE would range between VND3-4 trillion, and could go as low as VND2 trillion in January and February, around Lunar New Year, the quietest period on Vietnam’s equity markets.

When the VN-Index began to recover from its March-end bottom, trading began to climb to around VND5-6 trillion per session, with analysts saying the inflow of cash came from other investment channels, such as real estate and bank deposits, that become less attractive during the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the State Bank of Vietnam continuing to lower reference rates to stimulate business recovery in the third quarter, along with an influx of first time investors trying to bottom-fish undervalued stocks, the VN-Index continued to recover steadily between July and November, with daily trading volume gradually climbing up to VND8-9 trillion.

On Wednesday, the VN30-Index for HoSE’s 30 largest capped stocks added 0.37 percent, less than the general market, and accounted for nearly 40 percent of trading volume. On it, 16 6ickers gained against 12 that lost.

POW of electricity generator PetroVietnam Power topped gains this session with 6.9 percent, its ceiling price. It was followed by SBT of agricultural firm TTC-Sugar, up 2.7 percent, and MBB of mid-sized state-owned lender Military Bank, with 2.4 percent.

Results were mixed in the banking sector this session. Of Vietnam’s three largest state-owned lenders by assets, VCB of Vietcombank was up 1.6 percent, while BID of BIDV and CTG of VietinBank fell 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent respectively.

Of private banks, TCB of Techcombank rose 2.4 percent, EIB of Eximbank gained 0.3 percent, while HDB of HDBank shed 1.1 percent, VPB of VPBank 0.7 percent, and STB of Sacombank with 0.3 percent.

Other major gainers included SAB of major brewer Sabeco, up 1.7 percent, SSI of top brokerage Saigon Securities Inc., up 1.5 percent, and VJC of budget carrier Vietjet Air, with 1.3 percent.

VIC of private conglomerate Vingroup, HoSE’s largest cap, kept its opening price this session. Of its two subsidiaries, VHM of real estate developer Vinhomes grew 2.3 percent, and VRE of mall operator Vincom Retail added 0.9 percent.

In the opposite direction, MWG of electronics retailer Mobile World topped losses with 1.7 percent, followed by PNJ of jewelry retailer Phu Nhuan Jewelry, with 1.3 percent, and HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group with 0.8 percent.

The HNX-Index for the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid- and small-caps, surged 1.26 percent, and the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Companies Market gained 1.17 percent.

Foreign investors turned net sellers to the tune of over VND1 trillion on all three bourses, one of the biggest net selling sessions recorded this year.

The most net sold stock was DIG of real estate developer Development Investment Construction JSC, with foreign investors selling around VND1.49 trillion worth of DIG shares via the put-through method. DIG has not released information regarding the nature of these share transfers.