Vietnamese shares advanced on December 9 as the large-cap sector kept rising on positive market sentiment.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) gained nearly one per cent to 1,039.13 points. The index inched down 0.07 per cent on December 8.

The main driver of the market – the large-cap sector – continued increasing as the market sentiment remained upbeat. The large-cap tracker VN30-Index was up 1.05 per cent to 1,004.03 points.

The VN30 futures due on December 17 rose 1.51 per cent to 1,008.00 points. The positive movement of the VN30 futures indicates investors are still optimistic about the market’s short-term prospects, according to Saigon-Hanoi Securities (SHS).

The VN30 futures due on January 21, March 18 and June 17 of 2021 also advanced.

Mid-cap and small-cap stocks also remained positive as the two trackers were up 0.42 per cent and 0.53 per cent, respectively.

Leading companies in the financial-banking sectors posted good gains to support the market.

The insurance, banking and brokerage sectors increased by 1.0-3.4 per cent, according to vietstock.vn. Among insurers, Bao Minh Insurance (BMI) jumped 4.7 per cent and Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) was up 0.5 per cent.

The banking sector was boosted by Vietcombank (VCB), Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID) and Techcombank (TCB) – which gained 2.6-3.6 per cent.

And shares of Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) soared 8.1 per cent on December 9 as the bank officially listed more than 2.16 billion shares on the HoSE.

The shares debuted at 26,400 dong ($1.14) each and could trade on a 20 per cent trading band on either side on the debut day. ACB shares surged to 28,550 each on December 9.

At the opening price of 26,400 dong, ACB’s market value was set initially at more than 57 trillion dong.

ACB moved its shares to the HoSE from the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX). The last trading on the HNX was December 1.

The bourse-switching decision was made in June after shareholders approved a plan to move the bank’s shares to HoSE to help increase its market capitalisation.

Meanwhile, securities shares were still impressive with strong gains seen in SSI Securities (SSI), Ho Chi Minh City Securities (HCM), Vietinbank Securities (CTS), Agribank Securities (AGR) and BIDV Securities (BSI). CTS, AGR and BSI soared between 6.6-6.9 per cent.

Other blue chips such as Vingroup (VIC), Vinhomes (VHM), Novaland (NVL), dairy producer Vinamilk (VNM), aviation company Vietjet (VJC) and tech group FPT Corp (FPT) also ended in positive territory.

“Positive cash inflow proves investors are still optimistic and expecting the market to keep moving up at the moment,” Thanh Cong Securities (TCSC) said in its daily report.

“The focus is switching to the sectors with good earnings outlooks such as banking and securities,” the brokerage said.

And on the HNX, the HNX-Index rose 1.36 per cent to 158.74 points.

The HNX-Index has totalled a seven-day rally of 7.47 per cent since November 30.

Nearly 671 million shares were traded on the two exchanges, worth 12.73 trillion dong.

VIET NAM NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK