Shares continued to improve during the Feb. 8 session, with the VN-Index and VN30 on the HCM Stock Exchange adding 2.1 and 2.6 percent, respectively.

The VN30 extended increase on Feb. 7 by concluding at 460.98 points, while the VN-Index closed at 409.53 points.

Advancers outnumbered decliners 190-55.

Market value climbed 20.2 percent over Feb. 7 level, reaching 638.7 billion VND (30.4 million USD) and investors exchanged some 44.6 million shares.

One-third of the 30 stocks listed on the VN30 hit their ceiling prices, of which property developer Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAG) and Sacombank (STB) were the two leading shares by capitalisation.

Other large-cap stocks rose between 0.6-3.2 percent.

Eximbank was the most active code in HCM City with 3.4 million shares changing hands.

Meanwhile, the most active stock in Hanoi was Kim Long Securities Co (KLS) with nearly 4 million shares exchanged.

The benchmark HNX-Index edged up 1.9 percent to 63.74 points. Gainers overwhelmed losers by 206-62.

Trading value on the northern bourse climbed 12.6 percent, totalling 369.8 billion VND (17.6 million USD) on a volume of 41 million shares.

"We are optimistic about the coming trend of the VN-Index and VN30, investors can consider buying," ACB Securities Co analyst Cao Tan Phat recommended. However, he said investors can profit on the HNX-Index as it is reaching resistance level of 64-65 points.

On the bond market, the northern exchange said it will auction 5 trillion VND (238.1 million USD) worth of bonds issued by the State Treasury. "Before a great demand from investors with the expectation that interest rates will decline, we hope the amount bonds successful finding buyers will be high," Phat said.

The total value of bonds to be issued in the first quarter this year is expected to reach 25 trillion VND (1.2 billion USD).

For the secondary bond market, January was an off month as trading value fetched only 4.55 trillion VND (216.6 million USD).

Foreign investors bought more than they sold by the end of the day on both bourses by a combined margin of 118.4 billion VND (5.6 million USD), surging nearly 87 percent over the previous session and marking their eight consecutive sessions as net buyers./.