Vietnam’s benchmark VN Index ended up 0.3 per cent on Thursday in lower volume as investors preferred to remain on the sidelines to gauge the direction of the market.

The index closed at 588.53, but the volumes dropped to 82.74 million shares on Thursday from 86.32 million the previous day and also below the five-day average level of 94.95 million, Thomson Reuters data showed.

Buyers and sellers were not active, having reduced their activities as if they want to test each other's reaction, FPT Securities said in a daily report.

Baoviet Holdings, Vietnam’s top insurer, rose 1.34 per cent, followed by Vinamilk, the country’s largest dairy product maker, which gained 0.93 per cent, and Vietcombank, the largest listed lender, that advanced 0.82 per cent.