Brokerages have said bank stocks will continue supporting the equity market this year but are not main drivers as lenders are facing a slew of challenges.

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Le Thi Nguyet Anh, director of analysis at ACB Securities Company, was quoted by Dau tu Chung khoan newspaper as saying that credit is projected to grow 15% and profit up 10% in the banking system in 2016, which are not high levels.

Lenders will fare better this year than in previous years but have to cope with restructuring and bad debt problems.   

Last week saw stocks making gains on both markets as the VN-Index of the HCMC bourse finished the week with a 2.49% rise at 572.34 points. On the Hanoi exchange, the HNX-Index ended up 2.26% at 80.24 points.

The average matched volume dipped 12.4% to 110 million shares per session on the HCMC bourse, and fell 6% on the northern exchange to 39.4 million shares per session.

Losses of blue-chips and large caps pushed the main index down last Monday. A number of speculative stocks plunged to their floor prices due to a selloff.  

As bottom fishing turned strong and dairy stock VNM rose on news about its withdrawal from seven business sectors, the HCMC market rallied in the following two sessions. Apart from VNM, many other stocks had lackluster trade.   

According to Viet Capital Securities Company, the VN-Index ebbed in early trade on Friday morning but eventually edged up.

Mid caps stole the limelight, especially tire makers CSM (up 6.3%) and DRC (up 2.2%), and pharmaceutical firms DHG (up 4.1%) and IMP (up 3.1%).

VNM also rose by 1.4% after reaching a record high. Other shares driving the main index higher were VIC, HPG and KDC.

However, MSN, VCB and BVH kept the index from a further increase.

Notably, food producer Ntaco Corporation (ATA) rocketed by a combined 32.5% last week following news about surges in last year’s fourth quarter revenue and profit.

Na Ri Hamico Mineral Company (KSS), on the contrary, skidded 13.3% despite no new information about its operation, and KSS shrank to the floor price of VND1,300 per share last Friday.

Meanwhile, the HCMC market saw foreigners’ net sales exceeding VND1 trillion last week.

They sold VIC shares worth VND1.14 trillion, MSN shares worth VND245 billion via put-through deals, in addition to CTD, VCB and HSG.

They picked SSI, HPG and MBB shares with a respective value of VND115.5 billion, VND65.4 billion and VND31.7 billion.

Foreigners net bought VND41 billion worth of shares on the Hanoi bourse, chiefly PVS, SCR and IVS.

They offloaded VND29.5 billion worth of NET shares and VND3.4 billion worth of NTP shares.