HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s benchmark VN Index rose to a 10-year high yesterday, boosted by financial stocks that are expected to deliver positive earnings reports for the past quarter and the whole year.

The benchmark index on the HCM Stock Exchange added 0.85 per cent to close at 976.72 points – its highest level since January 2008.

The benchmark index has also totalled a five-straight-day growth of 3.24 per cent.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX Index advanced 0.72 per cent to end at 116.41 points. The northern market index has made up a four-day gain of 3 per cent.

More than 211.2 million shares were traded on the two exchanges, worth VNĐ5.3 trillion (US$235.7 million).

The stock market was dominated by gaining stocks, which outnumbered losers by 270 to 203, while 126 other stocks ended flat.

Banking and brokerage sectors were among the five best-performing industries on the Vietnamese stock market yesterday.

According to Bao Viet Securities Company (BVSC), the two sector indices gained 2.58 per cent and 2.36 per cent, respectively.

Nine of the 10 bank stocks made gains. The strongest growth rates were seen in Vietinbank (CTG), Vietcombank (VCB), Eximbank (EIB) and MBBank (MBB).

The four bank stocks rose between 2.2 per cent and 4.1 per cent.

High investor expectations for listed banks to release positive quarterly earnings reports was the main reason driving the banking sector up after maximum credit growth for 2017 was forecast by the central bank to be 18-19 per cent, KIS Việt Nam Securities Company (KIS) said in a report.

The banking sector was also supported by the news that Bac A Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Bac A Bank) started trading its 500 million shares on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) under code BAB at a starting price of VNĐ20,000 per share the same day.

Bac A Bank’s share price soared 15 per cent to close yesterday at VNĐ23,000 per share. In the first three quarters of the year, the bank recorded VNĐ482 billion in pre-tax profit, a year-on-year increase of 25 per cent.

Brokerage and insurance-finance firms also performed well, driven up by Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), Vietnam National Reinsurance Corporation (VNR), VNDirect Securities (VND), BIDV Securities (BSI) and Sài Gòn-Hà Nội Securities (SHS).

Yesterday’s increase proved that investors remained upbeat on the higher-than-expected economic growth rate of 6.81 per cent published by the General Statistics Office on Wednesday along with optimistic forecasts for 2018, KIS said.

“That is the main factor that will drag the market valuation down, thereby relieving the current high valuation pressure,” KIS said, adding that the VN Index would move to the next short-term target of 780-785 points. — VNS