Vietnamese shares rose on Wednesday morning, driven by blue chip stocks.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange gained 0.75 per cent to close at 970.60 points.

The southern market index was up 1.23 per cent on Tuesday.

The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange rose 0.82 per cent to end at 109.49 points.

The northern market index advanced 0.86 per cent in the previous session.

More than 121 million shares were traded on the two local exchanges, worth a total of VND2.48 trillion (US $110.2 million).

Large-cap stocks performed well to drive the positive market trend.

The blue chip VN30 Index gained 0.58 per cent to end the morning session at 944.82.

Twenty-five of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation in the VN30 basket advanced.

The gainers included Binh Minh Plastic JSC (BMP), food and beverage firm Masan (MSN), steel producer Hoa Sen (HSG) and Saigon Securities Inc (SSI).

Only three VN30 stocks declined: DHG Pharmaceutical (DHG), brewer Sabeco (SAB) and FLC Faros Construction (ROS).

Among small-cap and mid-cap stocks, Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group (HAG) lost one per cent on news of the firm’s suit with FPT Capital Company.

The afternoon trading session starts at 1pm. — VNS