An investor looks at stock prices on a smartphone at a brokerage in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran
Vietnam’s benchmark VN-Index rose 0.58%, the biggest increase in three weeks, to 1,236.18 points Wednesday.
The index closed 7.11 points higher after dropping 6.58 points in the previous session.
Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange increased by 22% to VND10.390 trillion (US$409.2 million).
The VN-30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 24 tickers gained.
MSN of conglomerate Masan Group rose 3.3%, VRE of retail real estate arm Vincom Retail closed 2.5% higher, and HDB of lender HDBank went up 2.4%.
Five blue chips fell. BCM of Becamex Investment and Industrial Development slid 1.1%, STB of Ho Chi Minh City-based lender Sacombank dropped 0.8%, and CTG of state-owned lender VietinBank fell by 0.5%.
Foreign investors were net seller to the tune of VND406 billion, mainly selling FPT of IT giant FPT Corporation and STB.
The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, rose 0.58%, while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market went up 0.13%.
Globally, European shares opened higher on Wednesday due to broad-based gains as bond yields took a breather ahead of a crucial inflation reading in the United States, while British bourses outperformed following a soft local inflation reading, Reuters reported.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.3%, on track to snap a three-day losing streak.
UK’s more domestically focussed midcap index jumped 1.4% after data showed British inflation unexpectedly slowed to an annual rate of 2.5% in December from 2.6% in November, with core measures of inflation falling more sharply.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 was last up 0.7%, outpacing European peers.
