A strong performance by blue chips led shares to close higher on April 17 on both of the nation's stock exchanges.

On the HCM Stock Exchange, the VN-Index closed at 468.26 points, a 1.2-percent gain on the day, as advancers outnumbered decliners by 228-35.

The value of trades fell from the previous session's profit-taking attempts on April 13, however, reaching just 1.36 trillion VND (64.7 million USD) as the volume of trades dropped 26.5 percent to 89.7 million shares.

Of the 30 leading shares by market capitalisation and liquidity, four retreated, including insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), food processor Masan Group (MSN), Sacombank (STB) and Gemadept Logistics (GMD). With 25 other stocks tracked by the index gaining, the VN30 Index edged up by 1.3 percent to 539.17 points.

Real estate stocks continued to outperform the market, as they have for a number of recent sessions. HCM City Infrastructure Investment Co (CII) posted a 34-percent growth in net profit in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period last year, while Thu Duc House (TDH) announced that it would divest from some financial projects to concentrate its resources on its core operations.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index rose over 2.5 percent to 80.37 points. Value was essentially unchanged from April 13's session, totalling 1 trillion VND (47.6 million USD) on a volume of 91.3 million shares. Gainers outnumbered losers by 256-45.

With nearly 9.5 million changing hands, Habubank (HBB) again became the most-active share nationwide.-VNA