HÀ NỘI, VIETNAM, August 8 - Vietnamese shares opened higher on Monday, led by banking and large-cap stocks which were bolstered by continued improvements in investors’ sentiment.

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index edged up 0.32 per cent to close Monday at 1,256.75 points.

The VN-Index had risen by 3.85 per cent last week.

Some 699 million shares worth VNĐ15.8 trillion (US$675.5 million) were traded on the southern exchange.

The market's breadth was positive with 271 stocks climbing, of which 75 stocks hit ceiling prices, while 189 stocks declined.

The index's rallies were driven by sharp gains in some large-cap stocks, especially in the banking sector. The VN30-Index, which tracks the 30 biggest stocks on HoSE, jumped 0.36 per cent, to 1,276.70 points.

In the VN-30 index, gainers included Sacombank (STB), HDBank (HDB), ViBank (VIB), VPBank (VPB), Techcombank (TCB) and Military Bank (MBB).

“Given the market's positive movements in the first week of August and escaping the previous strong downtrend, we could still expect the market to gradually reach higher points in the near future,” said Việt Dragon Securities Co.

“Correction, if any, is also an opportunity to accumulate stocks at a good price. Therefore, investors could still consider buying opportunities to accumulate stocks with positive accumulation background and attracting cash flow. However, investors should consider taking profits on stocks that have risen rapidly.”

“Although slightly back from the reference level, the demand continued to participate when the market corrected and helped VN-Index quickly regain upward momentum, as shown by the pin bar candlestick pattern in the main indices. Liquidity continued to decrease on VN-Index, showing that the supply is still not strong. This will likely create an opportunity for demand to continue to dominate and help the market gain early this week.

“The nearest resistance area that we need to pay attention to is 1,260 for VN-Index and 1,280 for VN30-Index. Therefore, investors may consider buying and accumulating stocks that receive noticeable support around the base prices,” Việt Dragon Securities Co said.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index rose 0.48 per cent to end at 301.33 points.

The northern index had grown 3.91 per cent last week.

Liquidity also increased here with nearly 93.9 million shares worth VNĐ1.9 trillion being exchanged. — VNS