Both benchmark indices finished October 7's session higher after a day which will have brought smiles to investors nationwide.

On the HCM City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index gained 0.6 per cent to close at 500.47 points with the number of advancers almost doubling the number of decliners.

This was the first time the VN-Index exceeded 500 points during the last six weeks and occurred thanks to strong cash flow.

The VN30, tracking the southern city's 30 largest stocks, also added 0.99 per cent to reach 557.54 points.
While only five codes saw slight decreases, 15 others rebounded to help indices add value.

Shares of Hoa Phat Group (HPG) climbed 3 per cent to finish at VND36,300 per share, PV Drilling (PVD) rose 2.3 per cent to VND67,500 and Vietinbank (CTG) finished at VND17,600, up 4.1 per cent.

The total trading volume remained at a positive level, reaching VND1.066 trillion (US$50.78 million) on a volume of 72.09 million shares.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index ended at 61.39 points, a 0.74 per cent rise compared to last Friday. Gainers overwhelmed losers by 122-62.

More than 27 million shares worth VND248.23 billion ($11.82 million) were exchanged.

The HNX30, composed of the bourse's top shares in terms of capitalisation and liquidity, gained 1.29 per cent to hit 114.71 points.

According to FPT Securities (FPTS), the VN-Index would continue to exceed the 500-point level throughout trading during the week while the HNX-Index fluctuates around 61 to 61.5 points.

In the short term, several enterprises' business outcome reports for the third quarter were expected to support the upward trend of the market. There was high possibility that the optimism would remain during this month, FPT Securities said.

SHS Securities also forecast a positive trend for the VN-Index in the last quarter of the year.

Regarding the proposed increase in the ownership rate of foreign investors, SHS said that if passed, this would be a positive factor on the domestic investors' sentiment in the short-term with expectation that market liquidity would improve.

In the long term, this would help the stock market attract new sources pumping foreign capital into sectors such as oil and gas, healthcare and consumer goods, which have traditionally interested foreign investors.-VNA