Petro, insurance stocks drive market up
Petro, insurance stocks drive market up
Vietnamese shares advanced slightly on Wednesday morning, driven by petroleum and insurance companies.
The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange gained 0.44 per cent to end at 958.79 points.
The southern bourse index had lost total of 0.42 per cent in the previous two days.
The HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange was up 0.31 per cent to close at 106.92 points.
The Ha Noi index had fallen 0.51 per cent over the previous two sessions.
More than 137 million shares were traded in the morning session, worth VND2.72 trillion (US$119.4 million).
Petroleum and insurance stocks led the market upturn after the previous two-day decline.
Energy stocks benefited from an increase in oil prices as Brent crude advanced 1.2 per cent to trade at $60.91 a barrel.
Gaining petroleum stocks included PetroVietnam Gas (GAS), PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services (PVD) and PetroVietnam Mud Drilling (PVC).
Insurance-finance firms also gained strongly to support the market.
The insurance sector index jumped 3 per cent, data on vietstock.vn showed, driven by Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) and PetroVietnam Insurance (PVI).
Other sectors that also saw stocks move up included banking, retail, construction and pharmaceuticals.
The afternoon trading session starts at 1pm.
