Shares in the two Vietnamese bourses added value on the very first trading day of the month on November 3.

Last month, the VN-Index was down by 1.4 percent, trading volume declined by 16 percent, and foreign investors sold a net value of 1.1 trillion VND (51.8 million USD).

But VietDragon Securities predicted the scenario would change in November. Since foreign investors have returned to net purchasing, the company expected them to end their selling streak.

In addition, VietDragon Security also predicted that the economy would stabilise and enable businesses to confidently set their targets.

Last October, the Purchasing Managers' Index for Vietnam stood at 51 points, a slight decrease from the 51.7 points in September but still signalling an overall improvement in operating conditions in the manufacturing sector, HSBC announced on November 3.

"Vietnam is on a gradual path to economic recovery," commented Trinh Nguyen, the Asia economist at the bank. "The October PMI shows that the manufacturing sector continues to expand on higher export orders, highlighting the country's competitiveness in labour-intensive manufacturing." Nguyen expected the sector to continue growing on improved external demand.

At the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index gained by 2.31 points or 0.38 percent to 603.15 points. Trading value stayed at its high level of nearly 2.4 trillion VND (113.2 million USD) on a volume of 123.87 million shares.

The VN30 Index, composed of the bourse's 30 leading stocks in terms of capitalisation and liquidity, rose by 0.92 percent to close at 644.64 points.

The blue chips ended mixed, but gainers prevailed. Steelmakers Hoa Phat and Hoa Sen joined Vietcombank and real estate giant Vingroup among the top earners in rising by 1.8 to 4.2 percent.

Food processor Hung Vuong jumped by 3.1 percent on November 3 following its announcement of a 275-percent growth in profits in the third quarter, hitting 199.1 billion VND (9.3 million USD). The company's profits for the first nine months of this year reached 223.3 billion VND (10.5 million USD), an increase of nearly 54 percent.

At the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index increased by 0.95 percent to 88.87 points. Total turnover reached 717.7 billion VND (33.8 million USD) on a volume of about 47.8 million shares.

The HNX30 Index, representing the performance of Hanoi's 30 largest stocks, climbed by 1.15 percent to 177.44 points. Foreign investors ended up as net buyers with a total purchase of 95.5 billion VND (4.5 million USD).-VNA