The number of advancing stocks outnumbered that of declining ones, but a large-cap share slowdown restrained the growth of the VN-Index on May 8.
On the HCM Stock Exchange, the VN-Index edged up 0.28 percent to close the session at 554.51 points with 121 stocks rising, 71 dropping and 111 ending flat.
Strong growth of speculative shares lifted the market. Many hit ceiling prices, like HAI Agrochem Co (HAI), Sao Mai Group (ASm), PAN Pacific Corp (PAN) and Quang Nam Rubber Investment Co (VHG).
At the other end of spectrum, blue chips lost momentum as heavyweight stocks like Vietcombank (VCB), Vietinbank (CTG), Hoa Phat Group (HPG), VinGroup (VIC), and PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service Corp (PVD) all declined.
The VN30, which tracks the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity, inched up 0.09 percent to stand at 582.91 points.
Liquidity was little changed compared with May 7's level. Nearly 73 million shares worth more than 1 trillion VND (46.1 million USD) were exchanged by the end of the session.
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index also increased 0.45 percent to finish at 80.29 points while the HNX30, which tracks the 30 shares with the highest liquidity, added 0.45 percent to end at 80.29 points.
Liquidity continued to slide here with the trading volume and value both dropping 10 percent against May 7, totalling 31 million shares worth 365 billion VND (16.8 million USD).
Foreign investors continued to react positively to the weaker dong as the foreign sectors purchased another net buy value of 73.6 billion VND (3.4 million USD) worth of shares in the two markets.-VNA
