Investors watch stocks trading on Hoang Gia Securities Co's trading floor in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnamese shares on March 7 extended rallies on both local markets as energy stocks rose on higher crude oil prices.
The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange rose 0.4 percent to close at 576.20 points, rallying 3 percent in the last five trading sessions.
The HNX Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange inched up 0.1 percent to end at 79.73 points. The northern index has gained 0.6 percent in the last two days.
Local exchanges received a boost from energy stocks, which benefited from higher crude prices after US producers cut the number of oil rigs to the lowest number in the last six years.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) added 1.2 percent to trade at 36.35 USD a barrel and London-traded Brent crude was up 1 percent to trade at 39.12 USD a barrel.
WTI has jumped nearly 40 percent in the last two months from its twelve-year low of 26.21 USD and Brent crude has surged nearly 18 percent in the last nine trading sessions on expectations that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers such as Russia and US will reduce oil production in an attempt to improve prices.
Among local energy stocks, PetroVietnam Gas Corporation (GAS) surged 6.7 percent, PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Service Corporation (PVD) and PetroVietnam Mud Drilling Corporation (PVC) jumped 6.3 percent each.
Natural rubber producers extended gains as rubber prices on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange were up 2.3 percent to trade at 178.7 yen (1.58 USD) per kilogramme.
Phuoc Hoa Rubber JSC (PHR) and Thanh Cong Rubber JSC (TNC) added 6.7 percent each, and Tay Ninh Rubber JSC (TRC) rocketed 7 percent.
Hoang Anh Gia Lai Agricultural JSC (HNG), auto distributor Hoang Huy Investment Services JSC (HHS), construction company Sao Mai Group Corporation (ASM) and Hoang Quan Consulting-Trading-Service Real Estate Corporation (HQC) helped lift the markets after they were added into the Germany-based exchange traded fund FTSE Vietnam ETF’s investment portfolio on March 4.
Investors on March 7 traded more than 220 million shares on the two local exchanges, worth 3.2 trillion VND (144 million USD), an increase of 20 percent from last week’s daily trading value.-VNA
