HO CHI MINH CITY, Aug. 25 (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, rebounded to its uptrend this week, mainly due to the strong rally of bank stocks.
The trading activities of the bourse in the first trading days were sluggish as investors maintained cautious about the market's outlook, said local stock experts.
In the following days, positive growth of bank stocks made a great contribution to the uptrend for the bourse. Investors' confidence improved amid the news about a draft circular of the State Bank of Vietnam to support local banks' operating more efficiently and safely, Bao Viet Securities Company (BVSC) said, adding that local commercial banks would be able to improve their lending activities without being worried about their current credit status.
Notable large-cap stocks in this field, including MBBank (MBB) and Vietinbank (CTG), and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID) led the gains.
Other large-cap stocks in the basket of VN30 Index also soared. They were Thanh Thanh Cong Tay Ninh Sugar JSC (SBT), Mobile World Corp (MWG), information technology group FPT (FPT), and FLC Faros Construction (ROS).
The index closed at 771.63 points on Friday, up 1.86 points, or 0.24 percent. From the previous week's closing session, the index won 2.66 points, or 0.34 percent.
During the week, the index experienced three ups and two downs, posting the highest level of 771.63 points on Friday, and the lowest level of 761.26 points on Tuesday. In comparison, it ranged between 767.59 points and 776.17 points in the previous week.
About 225.178 million shares worth 3.593 trillion Vietnamese dong (VND) (160.07 million U.S. dollars) changed hands on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange on Friday, an increase of 2.5 percent in volume and 1.2 percent in value against Thursday.
Over 945.767 million shares worth 11.135 trillion Vietnamese dong (718.78 million U.S. dollars) were traded on the bourse this week, a decrease of 1.8 percent and 15.08 percent, respectively, against last week.
Foreign investors ended as net sellers this week. On Friday, they bought over 7.971 million shares but sold more than 8.006 million shares.
The index will continue its uptrend in the next trading period, predicted local securities companies.
