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

Vietnam’s benchmark VN-Index rose 0.45 percent to a new peak of 1,283.93 points Friday, with trading value hitting a new high this year. 

The index plunged 10 points in the beginning of the day but gradually climbed to around 1,288 points before closing with a near 6-point gain. This is its third session in the green.

Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, rose 4 percent to VND23.67 trillion ($1 billion), highest so far this year. The bourse saw 257 gainers and 162 losers.

The VN30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 18 tickers gaining, led by BID of state-owned lender BIDV with a ceiling increase of 6.9 percent.

BID was also the top contributor to the VN-Index gain this session, pushing it up by 3.1 points.

PLX of fuel distributor Petrolimex rose 5.5 percent, a two-month high, while PDR of Phat Dat Real Estate Development rose 4.1 percent to a new peak.

Other gainers include SBT of sugar producer Thanh Thanh Cong – Bien Hoa JSC, up 3.1 percent, and VRE of retail real estate arm Vincom Retail, up 2.9 percent.

On the losing side, MWG of electronics retail chain Mobile World led with a 3.1 percent fall, followed by NVL of real estate developer Novaland Group, down 2.6 percent, and VCB of state-owned lender Vietcombank, down 2.2 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers for the ninth session to the tune of VND294 billion, with strongest pressure on HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group and VIC of biggest private conglomerate Vingroup.