HO CHI MINH CITY, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The Vietnam Stock Index or VN-Index, a capitalization-weighted index of all the companies listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, reached an eight-year high this week when closing at 661.12 points on Thursday.
After surpassing the 640-point threshold last week, the index conquered the new threshold of 660 points this week.
Investors' confidence, large-cap stocks rally, and strong cash flows were among major factors contributing to the bullishness.
Blue chips and large-cap stocks saw price surges, including Vietcombank (VCB), Vietinbank (CTG), Sai Gon-Hanoi Bank (SHB), dairy firm Vinamilk (VNM), insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), property developer and Construction firms Kinh Bac City Development Share Holding Corp (KBC) and Saigon Thuong Tin Real Estate JSC (SCR), Coteccons Construction JSC (CTD), LDG Investment JSC (LDG) and Vietnam Construction No 2 JSC (VC2).
The VN-Index closed at 658.68 points on Friday, down 2.44points, or 0.37 percent, from the previous trading day's close. From the previous week's closing session, the index won 18.38 points, or 2.87 percent.
During the week, the index experienced three ups and two downs, posting the highest level of 661.12 points on Thursday, and the lowest level of 647.96 on Monday. In comparison, it ranged between 621.27 points and 640.3 points in the previous week.
About 143.999 million shares worth 3.486 trillion Vietnamese dong (VND) (159.45 million U.S. dollars) changed hands on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange on Friday, an increase of 4.91 percent in volume and 13.66 percent in value as against Thursday.
Statistics from the State Securities Commission of Vietnam showed that as of June 30, the local bourse's capitalization reached 1,512 trillion Vietnamese dong (VND) (69.16 billion U.S. dollars), or 36 percent of GDP of the country, up 11.2 percent against late 2015.
The total mobilization on the stock market through issuance of shares reached 223 trillion Vietnamese dong (10.2 billion U.S. dollars), up nearly 85 percent over the same period last year.
According to the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, the capitalization of Ho Chi Minh City's stock market stood at 1,270 trillion Vietnamese dong (VND) (58.09 billion U.S. dollars) in the second quarter of this year, compared with 1,120 trillion billion Vietnamese dong (51.23 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter.
Local securities companies predicted the index may reach the new peak of 670-680 points in the next trading period.
