HÀ NỘI — The stock market continued to recover on Thursday, with the VN-Index reclaiming the 1,680-point level despite weaker liquidity and persistent net selling from foreign investors.

The session saw notable volatility in early trading, with the benchmark index dipping to 1,660 points at one stage. However, selling pressure eased, and the market gradually rebounded in the afternoon to close higher.

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index rose 8.08 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 1,680.86 points. Market breadth tilted towards gainers, with 177 advancers against 137 decliners. Liquidity dropped sharply by 27.2 per cent from the previous session to VNĐ34.4 trillion (around US$1.3 billion).

The VN30-Index, which tracks the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation and liquidity, added 12.65 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 1,861.2 points. Within the basket, 19 stocks advanced, nine declined, and two closed flat.

Banking and financial stocks provided the main support, led by Techcombank (TCB) and Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPB), which gained 1.67 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively.

They were followed by SSI Securities Corporation (SSI), up 4.35 per cent, Fortune Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank (LPB), up 2.4 per cent, and Saigon – Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB), up 4.25 per cent. Collectively, these financial stocks contributed more than six points to the VN-Index.

On the losing side, Vingroup (VIC) led the decliners, dropping 1.44 per cent and erasing nearly 1.7 points from the index.

According to a daily report by Saigon – Hanoi Securities (SHS), after several weeks of strong activity with liquidity exceeding VNĐ50 trillion on HoSE, trading momentum has slowed, with a sharp decline in value recorded in Thursday’s session. The cooling off was partly attributed to investor caution ahead of the national holidays marking the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and the upcoming National Day.

SHS analysts observed: “As we previously noted, short-term speculative positions are losing appeal as opportunities for quick profits narrow. With August drawing to a close and the final month of the third quarter approaching, the market is likely to enter a phase of divergence. Valuations and expectations for third-quarter earnings will once again become the key drivers after the recent rally.”

They added: “Investors should maintain balanced exposure, focusing on fundamentally strong, industry-leading stocks aligned with Việt Nam’s strategic growth sectors.”

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index inched up 0.25 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 276.63 points, with trading value reaching VNĐ2.3 trillion, equivalent to more than 101 million shares. — VNS