The index was in the green throughout the day and closed with a near 10-point gain.

Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, surged 25 percent to VND19.3 trillion ($842 million), highest in the last four sessions.

After net buying for four consecutive sessions, foreign investors turned net sellers Thursday to the tune of VND411 billion, with strongest pressure on VRE of retail real estate arm Vincom Retail and HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group.

The VN30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 20 tickers in the green.

VPB of private lender VPBank surged 6.4 percent after announcing a stake sale of 49 percent in consumer lending unit FE Credit to Japan’s banking group Sumitomo Mitsui.

The ticker has repeatedly climbed to new all-time peaks in recent months, gaining 80 percent since the beginning of the year.

REE of industrial appliance maker Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation gained 5.1 percent, breaking off a falling trend commenced mid-February.

HPG rose to a new peak with a 3.8 percent gain. The ticker has risen 40 percent this year.

NVL of real estate developer Novaland Group rose for the fourth session in a row by 2.7 percent.

On the losing side, SBT of sugar producer Thanh Thanh Cong – Bien Hoa JSC continued its downward trend with a 2.2 percent drop.

VHM of real estate giant Vinhomes fell 1.6 percent to a three-week low.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, fell 0.11 percent, while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market rose 0.7 percent.