Benchmark indices on both of the nation's stock exchanges closed higher on April 9, supported by talk of a likely interest rate reduction and tighter official controls over the gold market.

The deputy director of the State Bank of Vietnam 's monetary policy department, Do Thi Nhung, said that the central bank would soon lower the cap on deposit interest rates from the current 13 percent per year to 12 percent per year.

In addition, newly issued Government Decree No 24/2012/ND-CP, to take effect on May 25, will tighten restrictions on gold traders and, by discouraging investors to pour money into gold, is expected to provide an indirect boon to the stock market.


On the HCM Stock Exchange, the VN-Index ended the session 0.74 percent higher than the previous session on April 6 at 450.73 points. Advancers outnumbered decliners by 183-83.

Despite improved investor sentiment, they remained cautious in trading, pushing the value of trades down 37 percent to just 909.8 billion VND (43.3 million USD), while the volume of trades decreased by 27 percent to just 66.3 million shares.

Twenty-two of the 30 leading shares posted gains, lifting the VN30 Index by 0.81 percent to 515.64 points. Of these top shares by market capitalisation and liquidity, only real estate developer Vincom (VIC) and dairy giant Vinamilk (VNM) lost value.

Tan Tao Investment Industry (ITA) became the most-active share in the day with 3.7 million changing hands before it closed up nine-tenths of a percent to 11,200 VND a share.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index advanced by 2.13 percent to conclude the day at 76.28 points, with gainers overwhelming losers by a four-to-one margin. Volume dropped 22 percent from Friday's level, however, to 70.2 million shares, while the value of trades fell 16 percent to 707.2 billion VND (33.7 million USD).

Habubank (HBB) continued to lead trades nationwide, with over 8.3 million shares exchanged on ongoing conjecture about its possible takeover. HBB edged up 1.4 percent to 7,000 VND per share.

Foreign investors concluded the day as net sellers on both exchanges after a long streak of net buys. They unloaded a combined 9.65 billion VND (460,000 USD) worth of shares.-VNA