Shares finished higher on both national stock exchanges on November 5.

On the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index advanced 0.55 percent to reach 499.79 points. The total trading value reached 865.334 billion VND (41.2 million USD) on the exchange of 75.85 million shares.

The VN30-Index, tracking the southern city's top shares of capitalisation and liquidity, gained 0.5 percent to reach 557.72 points with gainers outnumbering losers by 21-5.

Decliners included big names such as Vietinbank (CTG), MB Bank (MBB) and technology company FPT (FPT) which lost 100 VND per share. Food company Ma San Group (MSN) and real estate giant Vingroup (VIC) lost 1,500 VND and 500 VND per share, respectively.

PetroVietnam Drilling (PVD) rose by 2,000 VND (0.098 USD) to 66,500 VND (3.16 USD) per share, Vinamilk earned 1,000 VND to 141,000 VND (6.7 USD) per share and logistic company Gemadebt Corporation (GMD) was 5 percent higher to close at 30,700 VND (1.45 USD) per share.

In the southern bourse overall, advancers overwhelmed decliners by 157-60. Tan Tao Investment and Industry Corporation (ITA) continued to lead the southern bourse in terms of liquidity on November 5 with 6.4 million shares changing hands.

Many analysts said that the VN-Index did not witness strong surges recently due to the lack of boost from the blue chips; however, penny and midcap groups which had market prices below 7,000 VND (0.34 USD) per share became more appealing to investors.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index was 0.78 percent higher at 62.91 points. More than 53.45 million shares changed hands with a total value of 349.52 billion VND (16.64 million USD).

The HNX30-Index, composed of the capital city's top shares, finished at 118.09 points, 0.8 percent higher than November 4. Of these, 21 codes added value while four lost. Foreign investors concluded the day as net buyer with a value of 25 billion VND (1.19 million USD).-VNA