Benchmark indices closed at a three-month high on November 18 on both national stock exchanges.

On the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index jumped 1.03 percent to finish at 506.48 points.

The southern bourse witnessed strong cash flow on November 18 with a total trading value of 1.526 trillion VND (72.66 million USD) on the exchange of 115.879 million shares.

Both value and volume were higher than last week. More than 187 codes advanced while only 53 lost.

According to FPT Securities, the market received strong support from blue chips on November 18.

The VN30-Index, tracking the southern city's top shares by capitalisation and liquidity, closed 1 percent higher at 565.35 points. Advancers overwhelmed losers 24-2.

Losers included PetroVietnam Low Pressure Gas Distribution (PGD) and Becamex (IJC), which each lost 100 VND (0.0048 USD) per share.

Masan Group (MNG) advanced 1.8 percent to 81,500 VND (3.88 USD) per share, while Southern Rubber Industry (CSM) and Da Nang Rubber Company both gained 1,000 VND (0.048 USD) per share to reach 35,800 VND (1.70 USD) and 40,700 VND (1.90 USD) respectively.

Other gainers included Bao Viet Group (BVH), FPT Group (FPT), Hoa Sen Group (HSG), PetroVietnam Transport Corporation (PVT), Vinamilk (VNM), Vingroup (VIC) and Vietcombank (VCB).

Penny and mid-cap stocks also attracted investors on November 18. FPT Securities attributed the strong increase to investor sentiment rather than new information.

PetroVietnam Transport Corporation (PVT) led the southern bourse in liquidity with 8.2 million shares changing hands, followed by Tan Tao Group (ITA) with 7.4 million shares.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index rose for three straight days, landing at 64.39 points on November 18 or 0.22 percent higher.

More than 53.44 million shares changed hands with a total value of 406.07 billion VND (19.33 million USD).

The HNX30-Index, composed of the capital city's largest shares, advanced 1.42 percent to 122.49 points.

FPT securities said opportunities for investment in securities were huge, unlike other investment channels like gold and real estate markets.

According to the Vietnam Investment Securities Company, high liquidity reflected investor optimism and forecast continued rallying, but risks still existed.-VNA