Vinamilk products loaded for sale. Share price of the largest milk producer by market value rose 2.1 per cent. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tùng

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese shares posted the second biggest gain in the last month following the Government’s intention to block the spread of coronavirus across the country.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange rose 2.04 per cent to end Monday on 814.65 points.

This was the index’s second biggest increase in the last month. On July 28, the VN-Index jumped 3.59 per cent.

The benchmark lost a total of 3.71 per cent last week.

The market sentiment eased off from worries about the second coronavirus wave in the country after Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc during a Monday meeting urged ministries, Government agencies and local authorities to stop the second wave of coronavirus in Việt Nam.

On Sunday, the Prime Minister also asked the banking-financial sector to give more support to the business community so they could recover from the pandemic.

On Monday, large-cap stocks were the driving force of the market, pulling both mid-cap and small-cap groups.

Better market confidence lifted the blue-chip tracker VN30-Index up 2.31 per cent to 757.86 points and the mid-cap and small-cap indices up 2.48 per cent and 2.72 per cent, respectively.

The VN30 futures maturing on August 20 gained 2.34 per cent to 742.00 points.

In the VN30 basket, 29 of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation and trading liquidity advanced while only one declined.

Sugar producer Thành Thành Công-Biên Hòa (SBT) led the group’s upturn, followed by steelmaker Hòa Phát (HPG), consumer staples firm Masan (MSN), SSI Securities (SSI), dairy firm Vinamilk (VNM), and petrol company Petrolimex (PLX).

The Vietnamese stock market had returned to its balance in recent days despite the surge of infection cases and deaths in Việt Nam, Lê Anh Tùng, market strategy director at KB Securities Vietnam Co, said.

“Worries about a nationwide breakout had been priced in,” he said, adding the market sentiment may improve as the authorities strengthen their control over infected areas.

“The strong gain today with improved trading liquidity indicated investors’ confidence was better and cash seemed to return to the market,” Sài Gòn-Hà Nội Securities Co (SHS) said in its daily report.

“But in the short run, the market would still decline,” the company said. “The gap of 16.86 points between the VN30-Index and its August futures proves investors remain pessimistic.”

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index advanced 2.72 per cent to close Monday at 110.43 points.

The northern market index lost a total of 1.7 per cent last week.

More than 347 million shares were traded on the two exchanges, worth VNĐ5.23 trillion (US$223.3 million). — VNS