Vietnamese markets extended gains and ended higher on Wednesday, while the foreign bloc net withdrew VNĐ536 billion.

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index rose 7.06 points, or 0.56 per cent, to close the trading session at 1,276.85 points.

For most of the trading day, the VN-Index was above the reference level. Even though the morning session recorded slight selling pressure, VN-Index still ended the session higher on Wednesday, a third consecutive day of rises.

More stocks moved down on the southern bourse, with 180 ticker symbols finishing lower, while 133 stocks inched higher.

More than 589 million shares were traded on the southern exchange, worth nearly VNĐ15 trillion (US$609 million).

The 30 biggest stocks tracker, VN30-Index, also increased 9.44 points or 0.73 per cent, to 1,305.5 points. Twenty stocks of the VN30 basket rose, while six inched down and four ended flat.

Data compiled by financial website vietstock.vn showed that the Bank for Investment and Development (BID) was the biggest gainer on the market, with its shares up nearly 3.2 per cent, contributing more than two points to the VN-Index gains.

It was followed by FPT Corporation (FPT), shares of the software manufacturer increased 2.34 per cent, Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TCB), up 2.62 per cent and PetroVietnam Power Corporation (POW), up 4.14 per cent.

Some sectors posted losses and put slight pressure on the overall market. So-called Vin family stocks dropped, with losers being Vinhomes JSC (VHM), Vincom Retail Joint Stock Company (VRE) and Vingroup Joint Stock Company (VIC).

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index ended higher at 241.43 points, up 0.26 per cent. During the session, over 52 million shares were traded on the northern bourse, worth over VNĐ1.1 trillion.

Foreign investors extended their net selling spree as they net sold over VNĐ536 billion on the HoSE. — VNS