The benchmark VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange added 0.79 per cent to end at 1,159.22 points, increasing for a sixth consecutive session with total growth of 3.2 per cent.

The minor HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange gained 0.75 per cent to close at 134.10 points, recording an eight-day rally of total 6.7 per cent.

Both indices suffered strong profit-taking during the At-The-Close (ATC) period after they marked their intraday highs.

The VN-Index peaked at 1,165.63 points and the HNX Index touched the highest level of the day at 134.41 points.

More than 366.5 million shares were traded on the two local exchanges, worth VND9.47 trillion (US$421 million).

Upbeat investor sentiment came from a positive first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP), which is forecast at 6.3 per cent by the National Centre for Socio-Economic Information and Forecast (NCIF), Bao Viet Securities Company (BVSC) said in its daily report.

According to NCIF, the GDP growth was attributed to strong increases in construction, processing, tourism and service industries, making this year’s total GDP growth rate at 6.83 per cent, beating the full-year forecast of 6.7 per cent and equivalent to last year’s figure.

“With the upbeat economic data in the first quarter, this estimation is feasible and could strongly support the stock market’s uptrend,” BVSC said.

According to BIDV Securities Company (BSC), positive market sentiment was another factor that fueled Monday’s session from the beginning and most industries were in the green.

The positive confidence helped boost large-cap stocks, consolidating increased momentum for the market, BSC said, adding that “active trading of real estate, securities and petroleum stocks helped the VN-Index close at a historical peak of 1,170 points.”

Of those three sectors, the real estate sector index jumped 3.7 per cent, data on vietstock.vn showed, led by Dat Xanh Real Estate Service and Construction (DXG), Novaland (NVL) and Vingroup (VIC).

Those property developers jumped at least 4.7 per cent.

Securities companies such as Viet Capital Securities (VCI) and MB Securities (MBS), and energy firms like PetroVietnam Technical Services (PVS) and PetroVietnam Mud Drilling (PVC) also posted strong growth rates.

On the opposite side, bank stocks were hit by strong selling after they led the benchmark index to surpass the peak of 1,130 points last week.

The worst-performing bank stocks included Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BID), Sai Gon-Ha Noi Bank (SHB) and Eximbank (EIB).

“The decline of bank stocks today, after the strong rally, increased the risk of the overall market’s downtrend. However, this correction is short-lived as major indices are supporting the market’s uptrend,” BVSC said.