Vietnam stocks hit new high

Vietnam’s stock market index soared 3.51 percent to close at a new lifetime high on Friday as blue chips made all-around gains.
The VN-Index rose 28.57 points to 817.39, beating the record of 809 set on December 20, with 67 gainers and 20 losers.

Trading volume jumped by 2 million shares to 7.9 million shares. Total value rose to VND898 billion (US$55.5 million) from VND668 billion.

Hanoi-based infrastructure developer SJS became the first stock to cross the VND600,000 mark, hitting the 5 percent ceiling to close at VND604,000.

IT developer FPT also rose 5 percent to close at VND495,000.

Other heavyweights to gain 5 percent were REE which closed at VND326,290, GMD which closed at VND396,720, and VNM which closed at VND632,890.

Analysts attributed the sharp rise to positive news about the future of the market.

Nguyen Van Dung, director of the Hanoi Securities Trading Center, added that foreign portfolio inflows into the market had jumped because of optimistic forecasts on the country’s economy and stock exchange by international financers like Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse.

But he warned that a steady market needed experienced investors who were not driven by the “herd instinct”.

Compiled by Dong Ha