An investor looks at stock prices on a screen at a brokerage in Ho Chi Minh City.
Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran. 

The VN-Index rose 0.59 percent to 990 points Friday, with strong net buying pressure from foreign investors propping up the market. 

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based, was predominantly green with 225 stocks gaining and 169 losing. Twenty stocks hit their ceiling prices, the highest they can go in a trading session.

Total trading volume fell slightly over the previous session to VND9.55 trillion ($412.89 million), but was still at the market’s highest levels.

After over a month of consecutive net selling, foreign investors have turned net buyers in the past three sessions, focusing mostly on blue chips. The net buy on HoSE this session was VND113 billion, with buying pressure mostly on VJC of budget carrier Vietjet Air and VNM of dairy giant Vinamilk.

The VN30-Index for the market’s 30 largest caps added 0.63 percent, with 16 stocks gaining and 11 losing.

Topping gains this session were stocks of two real estate developers, both of which hit their ceiling prices. KDH of Khang Dien House surged 6.9 percent, and TCH of Hoang Huy Group, which also sells trucks and other motor vehicles, rose 6.8 percent.

VJC of Vietjet Air and VNM of Vinamilk, the most net bought stocks, rose 4.6 percent and 1.1 percent respectively.

Results were mixed in the public banking sector. VCB of Vietcombank and BID of BIDV were some of the best performers on the VN30, up 2 percent and 1.4 percent respectively, while CTG of VietinBank and MBB of mid-sized Military Bank shed 0.3 percent and 1 percent respectively.

Private banks did slightly better, with HDB of HDBank adding 1.4 percent, EIB of Eximbank up 0.6 percent, TCB of Techcombank and VPB of VPBank keeping their starting prices, and STB of Sacombank going down 0.3 percent.

Other major gainers included HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group, REE of appliances maker Refrigeration Electrical Engineering, and SBT of agricultural firm TTC-Sugar, all up 1.4 percent.

The biggest losers this session were SSI of top brokerage Saigon Securities Inc., down 1.4 percent, MWG of electronics retailer Mobile World, 1.1 percent, and VRE of mall operator Vincom Retail, 0.9 percent.

Oil and gas did not fare well this session, with GAS of energy giant PetroVietnam Gas dropping 0.4 percent and PLX of petroleum distributor Petrolimex down 0.2 percent. However, POW of electricity generator PetroVietnam Power was up 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index for the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid- and small-caps, was up 0.25 percent, and the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Companies Market added 0.58 percent.