Strong buys early in December 14’s trading session on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange lifted the VN-Index to a close of 458.39 points, a gain of 3.2 percent despite strong sales by foreign investors.

Banking shares like Sacombank (STB) and Eximbank led trading on the HCM City exchange, which totaled nearly 1.6 trillion VND (86.5 million USD) for the day on a volume of over 43.6 million shares.

On Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index jumped by an even more impressive 4.97 percent to end the day at 146.95. Financial shares like Kim Long Securities and Asia Commercial Bank again led trading, as total market volume rose to 17.87 million shares, worth a combined 496.5 billion VND (26.8 million USD).

Foreign investors bucked the trend on both markets, becoming net sellers by a combined volume of 2 million shares.

Following the ending of December 14’s trading, State Bank of Vietnam Governor Nguyen Van Giau denied rumours that may have been circulating that the central bank planned to inject additional capital into the nation’s banking system.

The day’s sudden market turnaround was also due to a “domino” effect from global markets, said John Nolan, an analyst with a HCM City-based fund management company.

“Cheap prices” might have also contributed to the rally, as some blue chips had fallen enough over recent sessions to make the attractive buys again, said Nolan.

“Until listed companies report their fourth-quarter earnings and there are more significant developments in the economy, then it’s hard to confirm the market rally now,” he added./.