VPBank (VPB) led the gainers with 6.3 per cent growth, trading at VND43,550 (US$1.91) per share. — Photo blogs.tipranks.com

The VN-Index opened the first trading day of 2018 on a positive note with a rise of 0.4 per cent to 987.97 points on Tuesday morning.

Twenty of the top 30 largest shares by market value and liquidity on the HCM Stock Exchange advanced and only seven declined.

Overall market condition was also optimistic with 142 stocks rising, 119 falling and 87 remaining unchanged.

VPBank (VPB) led the gainers with 6.3 per cent growth, trading at VND43,550 (US$1.91) per share.

Many large-cap stocks witnessed substantial increases, including Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), VinGroup (VIC), Masan Group (MSN), FPT Corp (FPT), lender BIDV (BID) and Kido Group (KDC), up between 1.3 and five per cent each.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index was up 0.7 per cent at 117.69 points.

Over 137 million shares worth a combined VND3.7 trillion ($161 million) were traded on the two markets.

The afternoon session begins at 1pm. – VNS