Vietnam's stock market extend increase trend, surpassing 510-point mark

Vietnamese stock market witnessed the fifth increasing week in a row, passing the 510-point mark though liquidity declined. The VN-Index of the southern Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange ( HoSE) went up 0.09 points or 0.02 percent to close at 510.12 points on Friday. During the week, VN-Index gained 2.34 point or 0.46 percent against last Friday's closing session. The index experienced three ups and two downs, posting the highest level of 511.62 points on Tuesday and the lowest level of 508.53 points on Monday. Last week VN-Index ranged from 506.46 points to 509.16 points. A total of 78.639 million shares worth 1.085 trillion VND (51. 43 million U.S. dollars) changed hands at the HoSE on Friday, a decrease of 32.09 percent in volume and 26.91 percent in value against Thursday. VN-30 index, the new benchmark index for the HoSE which has been applied since Feb. 6, 2012 and tracks the 30 leading shares by both market capitalization and liquidity, closed at 570.11 points on Friday, up 0.93 points, or 0.16 percent against the previous trading day. A total of 20.617 million shares were traded, worth 472.8 billion VND (22.4 million U.S. dollars). On the country's northern bourse, Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index concluded at 66.09 points, up 0.02 points, or 0.03 percent on Friday against the previous trading day's closing session. HNXFF-Index, the new benchmark to replace the HNX-Index one year later, from December 2014, which started trading since Monday, closed at 66.17 points, down 0.02 points, or 0.03 percent. Profit-taking activities took place alternately in the group of blue chips and speculative stocks during the week, however, the speculative money still churned the group of "hot" stocks including securities, real estate, construction, and mining, helping easing anxiety among investors, especially when foreign investors' net-buying activities reduced. The market remained tense in the last sessions of the week. Although the VN-Index ended the week with blue, investors seemed more careful as liquidity declined sharply in recent sessions. Foreign investors boost selling activities during the week, which became an obstacle for the market when selling activities focused on several blue chips. However, a good sign was that they have returned quickly to buy in the last sessions of the week, thus relieving tension among investors. During the week, foreign investors' net buying totaled 920,000 U.S. dollars. Analysts said it became more difficult for investors to earn large profits, as expected at the moment, because price fluctuation amplitudes were narrowing. Investors should put into consideration stocks that would benefit from the proposed increase in foreign rooms.