A surprise hike in retail petrol prices on March 30 caused a few ripples on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange on March 29, thanks in large part to positive trading by foreign investors.

The VN-Index rose 0.47 percent on the day to end the session at 460.04 points.

Trading remained in the doldrums, however, with only about 28 million shares changing hands, worth a combined total of 667.6 billion VND (31.8 million USD).

Decliners outnumbered advancers by 128-77, although a few blue chips helped lift the market overall, including property developer Vincom (VIC), up 4.8 percent; insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), up 3.4 percent; PetroVietnam Finance (PVF), up 1 percent; Eximbank (EIB), up 0.7 percent; and Masan Group (MSN), up 0.5 percent.
Foreign investors contributed significantly to the recovery of the VN-Index on March 30, buying 2.6 million shares while selling just 854,480 shares.

Late on March 29, the Ministry of Finance raised the official petrol price by 2,000 VND to 21,300 VND a litre, blaming the influence of rising world oil prices.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index fell by 0.5 percent to close at 91.48 points. Volume remained very low at 30.4 million shares, worth a combined 444.5 billion VND (21.2 million USD).

Kim Long Securities Co (KLS) was again the nation’s most-active share, with 4.2 million traded./.