VIETNAM, July 7 - Vinamilk's green farm in Quảng Ngãi Province. Vinamilk's shares climbed more than 3 per cent yesterday. — Photo courtesy of Vinamilk

HÀ NỘI — Shares bounced back on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange but liquidity dropped, showing persistent investor caution about the market outlook.

The VN-Index recouped 1.47 per cent after losing 4.2 per cent since the beginning of this week, closing Thursday at 1,166.48 points.

Nearly 412 million shares worth VNĐ9.1 trillion (US$388 million) were traded on the southern bourse, down around 30 per cent in both volume and value compared to the previous session. This was also the lowest level since the HCM City’s bourse upgraded its trading system in April 2021.

Blue chips recovered with 24 of the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity gaining value and only four declining, while two closed flat.

Biggest gainers and contributor to the VN-Index were Vietcombank (VCB), Vingroup (VIC), Vinhomes (VHM), Vinamilk (VNM) and Masan Group (MSN), each rising more than 3 per cent.

The price of Brent oil futures was volatile on Thursday. It rose above $101 per barrel when the VN-Index closed but had little positive impact on the energy shares. PV Gas (GAS) closed down 1.8 per cent, its sixth consecutive falling session while Bình Sơn Refining and Petrochemical (BSR) plummeted by over 5 per cent, its third straight drop this week.

According to market analysts, the record low liquidity could be the driving force for stocks to reverse the downtrend.

“The selling pressure was very small, making it easier for stocks to increase, especially for blue-chips. Regardless of whether it's a pullback or not, it's the lack of sales that can make the price go up so easily,” analysts commented on vneconomy.vn.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index declined for a third straight day but the decrease could be ignored with a decrease of 0.02 per cent at 271.86 points.

Liquidity also plunged here as just 47.4 million shares worth VNĐ803 billion being traded, down 28 per cent in volume and 35 per cent in value compared to Wednesday.

Foreign traders concluded as net buyers in HCM City’s market, picking up shares worth a net value of VNĐ487 billion. They remained net sellers in Hà Nội for a value of VNĐ838 million. — VNS