The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) gained 0.33 per cent to close at 921.03 points.— VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese shares advanced on Monday after two of the three largest firms by market capitalisation – dairy producer Vinamilk and property developer Vingroup – announced new business plans that could boost their future prospects.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) gained 0.33 per cent to close at 921.03 points.

The HNX Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange fell 0.28 per cent to end at 103.98 points.

The two exchange indices each gained total 1.2 per cent last week.

Vinamilk and Vingroup made good gains following their new business plans, which are expected to boost corporate earnings next year.

The Vietnamese Embassy in China recently reported China had made a proposal to import Vietnamese dairy products and the agreement between the two governments would be signed in April 2019 after the proposal gets approved by Việt Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

According to MARD minister Nguyễn Xuân Cường, Vinamilk, TH True Milk and Mộc Châu Milk are the first three Vietnamese dairy companies to enter the Chinese dairy market.

As China is the biggest import market for Vietnamese products, the news is expected to boost Vinamilk’s earnings prospects next year onwards.

Vinamilk shares, listed on HoSE as VNM, jumped 4.3 per cent to end on Monday at VNĐ123,100 (US$5.47) per share.

Property developer Vingroup shares (HoSE: VIC) advanced 1.5 per cent to VNĐ100,500 per share after the company on Monday showcased its four new automobile and e-scooter models in HCM City.

Early last week, Vingroup introduced its branded automobiles and e-scooters to Hà Nội’s customers and reported the company had received total 2,000 pre-orders for all products.

Vinamilk and Vingroup are valued at VNĐ214.4 trillion ($9.53 billion) and VNĐ320.7 trillion, respectively.

The other largest company by market value, Vingroup’s subsidiary Vinhomes (HoSE: VHM), was up 1.2 per cent to VNĐ77,000 per share. Its market capitalisation reached VNĐ257.9 trillion.

Other large-cap stocks that also performed well included steel producer Hoa Sen (HSG), digital retailer Mobile World (MWG) and Phú Nhuận Jewellery JSC (PNJ).

According to Sài Gòn-Hà Nội Securities JSC (SHS), trading liquidity continued declining and the market growth depended mostly on the three largest-cap companies, which shouldn’t be a good signal for the market.

More than 151.5 million shares were traded on the two local exchanges, worth VNĐ4 trillion ($180 million).

The figures were lower compared to last week’s daily average numbers of 185 million shares in volume and VNĐ4.2 trillion in value.

“Monday’s gains may be short-lived when the benchmark VN-Index reaches its nearest new high of 930 points, which may trigger investors to lock in their profits,” SHS said in its daily report.

“Current market sentiment is still poor and investors are getting bored with it. What is needed now is positive business news to boost market trading, or else the market may just go sideways with low liquidity,” SHS said. — VNS