VN stocks post gains despite volatility

The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange gained 0.24 per cent to close at 985.33 points.

The southern market index was up 0.72 per cent on Thursday.

Nearly 85.3 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth VND1.74 trillion (US$74.5 million).

Market breadth was slightly positive with 146 gainers, 123 decliners and 59 stocks ending flat.

Financial firms, banks and petroleum companies were the main driving force behind the gains.

Those sector indices rose by between 0.4 and 0.8 per cent, data on vietstock.vn showed.

The best-performing stocks in those sectors were Sacombank (STB), Vietcombank (VCB), PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services (PVD), SSI Securities (SSI) and insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH).

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index added 0.46 per cent to end at 107.83 points.

The northern market index lost 0.21 per cent in the previous trading day.

Nearly 29.6 million shares were traded on the northern bourse, worth VND448 billion.

The domestic stock market is expected to continue moving up and down in the afternoon trading session, which starts at 1pm, as global markets await the outcomes of the US-China trade talks.