The benchmark VN-Index in the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange gained 079 per cent to close morning trading at 95737 points. — Photo cafef.vn

Shares ended Friday morning on a positive note as a series of large-cap stocks climbed up and spurred market.

The benchmark VN-Index in the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange gained 079 per cent to close morning trading at 95737 points.

The southern index had gained 116 per cent to close Thursday at 94990 points.

Nearly 251 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth VND5.2 trillion (US$223.9 million).

Market breadth was positive with 174 decliners and 220 gainers.

Steel maker Hoà Phát Group was a notable gainer as it soared 3.6 per cent to hit an all-time peak of VND30650 per share, surpassing its historic peak recored on March 12018 at VND29980 per share.

Other pillar stocks also outperformed such as Saigon-Hanoi Bank (SHB), Vingroup (VIC), Vinhomes (VHM), Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) and Mobile World Group (MWG).

The VN30-Index, which tracks the performance of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation and liquidity on HoSE, increased 073 per cent to close Friday morning at 92499 points.

In the VN-30 basket, 14 stocks gained ground and 14 decreased while two remained flat.

The minor HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange increased 054 per cent to end Friday morning at 14161 points.

More than 4075 billion shares were traded on the northern exchange, worth VND434 billion. — VNS