Vietcombank (VCB) surged 6.5 per cent in the early session after the bank announced it would issue nearly 933 million bonus shares for holders. — Photo vtc.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Vietnamese shares ended upbeat in the early session, led by Vietcombank.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange rebounded 1.2 per cent from Thursday's decline to close at 666.33 points.

The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange went up 0.4 per cent to temporarily stand at 83.67 points.

Vietcombank (VCB) led the market rise this morning after the bank announced late on Wednesday that it would issue about 933 million bonus shares for its shareholders, at a rate of 35 per cent.

Each shareholder will receive 35 new shares for every 100 shares he has. VCB surged 6.5 per cent in the early session.

VCB's steep rise boosted other banks, such as Vietinbank (CTG), Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BID) and Sacombank (STB).

These banks added between 1.2 per cent and 2.9 per cent.

Oil stocks recovered from a two-day decline after crude prices closed up on Thursday.

PetroVietnam Gas Corp (GAS) gained 1.6 per cent, PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corp (PVD) edged up 0.8 per cent and PetroVietnam Technical Services Corp (PVS) added 0.5 per cent.

Investors exchanged more than 83 million shares this morning, worth VND1.54 trillion (US$68.6 million). — VNS