HO CHI MINH CITY, Aug. 4 (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, made a new nine-year high this week.
The index closed at 788.68 points on Friday, surpassing the former nine-year high of 782.65 points on July 6. Notably, on Thursday morning's trading session, the index climbed over the 790-point threshold to close at 790.51 points.
Banks and energy stocks were main drivers for the bourse this week. Bank stocks posted solid gains due to positive business earnings in the first half of 2017. Leading listed banks such as BIDV (BID), Vietcombank (VCB), Vietinbank (CTG), Military Bank (MBB), and Sacombank (STB) were biggest gainers.
Global oil prices recorded strong gains in the week, leading to the rally of energy stocks, including PV Gas (GAS) and PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service (PVD).
Other blue chips like brewery Sabeco (SAB), Petrolimex (PLX), dairy firm Vinamilk (VNM), FPT Corp (FPT) and Masan Group (MSN) also contributed to the bourse's uptrend.
On Wednesday, the bourse witnessed declines of shares, especially those in the finance field, following concerns over the news of Tram Be, former chairman of Sacombank, and Phan Huy Khang, the bank's former CEO were arrested on Monday for allegedly economic mismanagement related to an unauthorized lending of 1.8 trillion Vietnamese dong (80 million U.S. dollars).
However, bank shares recovered in the next trading days with gains from some large-cap stocks Eximbank (EIB), Vietcombank (VCB), Vietinbank (CTG) and BIDV (BID).
The index closed at 788.68 points on Friday, up 0.19 points, or 0.02 percent. From the previous week's closing session, the index won 11.59 points, or 1.49 percent.
During the week, the index experienced four ups and one down, posting the highest level of 788.68 points on Friday, and the lowest level of 783.55 points on Monday. In comparison, it ranged between 759.74 points and 777.09 points in the previous week.
About 202.950 million shares worth 3.894 trillion Vietnamese dong (VND) (173.58 million U.S. dollars) changed hands on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange on Friday, a decrease of 2.94 percent in volume and 9.16 percent in value against Thursday.
Over 1.104 billion shares worth 20.845 trillion Vietnamese dong (920.27 million U.S. dollars) were traded on the bourse this week, an increase of 16.22 percent and 11.31 percent, respectively, against last week.
Foreign investors continued to be net buyers this week. On Friday, they bought over 8,260 million shares, accounting for 4.07 percent of the market's shares.
Local securities companies predicted the index will surpass 800 points in the next trading week.
