Gains on Wall Street helped fuel heavier purchases on the HCM Stock Exchange on Feb. 10, lifting the VN-Index to a close of 490.91 points, a gain of 1.66 percent.

Buy orders were concentrated in small amounts, however, and overall market value remained below the 1 trillion VND mark, at a meagre 813.64 billion VND (43.9 million USD). Total volume on the day reached just 18.4 million shares.

Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) was the most-active share with a volume of 808,550.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange on Feb. 10, the HNX-Index also rose by 1.49 percent to a close of 160.98. But market volume fell to an insignificant 8.7 million shares, worth a combined 285.33 billion (15.4 million USD).

Kim Long Securities Co (KLS) returned to the position as most active share on the northern bourse, and nationally, with a volume of 1,7 million traded.

Foreign investors continued to be net buyers on the southern stock exchange, picking up a net of 400,000 shares, while they were net sellers on the northern market by a slender margin of 30,300 shares.

A report from HSBC on the Vietnam Equity Market said that foreign investors had eased their sales and that values were beginning to re-emerge in the domestic market. Nevertheless, low and falling market volumes continued to be a concern for this investor segment, the report said./.