Stocks rise on ease of social distancing order and oil rebound
Stocks rise on ease of social distancing order and oil rebound
Shares rose on Thursday morning as the combination of a rebound in crude prices and the agreement from the Government to ease social distancing order helped calm a nervous market. 
The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange climbed 0.72 per cent to end Thursday morning at 774.45 points.
The benchmark index edged up 0.27 per cent to end Wednesday at 768.92 points.
More than 126.2 million shares were traded on the two exchanges, worth VND2 trillion (US$84.7 million).
Strict social distancing measures in place to curb the novel coronavirus are loosened in Hà Nội and HCM City from Thursday. Some nonessential services will be allowed to reopen.
The large-cap tracker VN30-Index up 0.58 per cent to close at 718.59 points.
The biggest gainers in the VN30 basket brewery company Sabeco (SAB) and steel producer Hoa Phat (HPG).
Local oil stocks also gained ground following the rise in oil prices, including PetroVietnam Gas JSC, up 2.8 per cent, Viet Nam National Petroleum Group, increasing 0.74 per cent and PetroVietnam Drilling & Well Services Corporation (PVD), up 0.96 per cent.
Brent crude was up 1.6 per cent to trade at $20.7 a barrel on Thursday after rising more than 5 per cent on Wednesday.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures increased by more than 2 per cent to trade at $14.06 a barrel, having risen around a fifth in the previous session.
The HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) gained 0.26 per cent to close Thursday morning at 107.08 points.
The index had gained 2.01 per cent to close Wednesday at 106.80 points.
The afternoon trading session starts at 1pm.
