Contrary to the usual practice, the domestic stock market continued to increase before the upcoming four-day holiday.

At the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index added another 0.73 percent to close at 636.65 points. Trading value jumped 31.4 percent over August 28’s session to 3.8 trillion VND (179.2 million USD) with a volume of around 189.9 million shares.

The VN30 Index, made up of the exchange's top shares in terms of liquidity and capitalisation, put on 1.17 percent to rise to 676.82 points, thanks to the gains of 15 blue chips, including top advancers Kinh Do Confectionery (KDC), private equity group Masan (MSN) and property developer Vingroup (VIC).

A Vingroup subsidiary has announced it had acquired 99 percent of Hong Ngan Real Estate, meaning Vingroup would now possess a number of large projects. Around 15 million VIC shares valued at 847 billion VND (39.9 million USD) changed hands on August 29 through negotiations.

The shares of a number of mineral companies hit the daily increase limit on the day, including Binh Thuan Mineral Industry (KSA), Bac Giang Minerals (BGM), Lao Cai Mineral Exploitation and Processing (LCM) and Nari Hamico (KSS), as well as Tay Bac Minerals (KTB) and Hoa Binh Mineral (KHB).

Mineral stocks have grown more than 14 percent in the past month and are expected to maintain their momentum.

At the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index also rose 0.3 percent to 87.04 points. Trading value declined compared with that of the previous session but remained high at 1 trillion VND (47.1 million USD), as the total volume of shares changing hands reached 82.8 million shares.

Large-cap stocks in Hanoi performed well, lifting the HNX30 Index up 0.3 percent to 179.56 points. Foreign investors shifted to net buyers by a net value of 908 billion VND (42.8 million USD).

The market will be closed until September 3 because of the national holiday.-VNA