Investors look at screens showing market fluctuations at Tan Viet stock trading floor in Ha Noi. — VNS Photo Doan Tung

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Shares continued to rally yesterday on the country's two exchanges after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) raised its forecast for Viet Nam's 2015 economic growth.

The benchmark VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange edged higher for a third day to a one-month high of 573.2 points, up 0.2 per cent over Monday's close. The Index has advanced 2 per cent in the past three days.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index extended its winning run to five days in a row, adding 0.4 per cent to end the session at 78.4 points.

The ADB yesterday lifted its economic growth forecast to 6.5 per cent for 2015 and to 6.6 per cent for 2016. In the previous forecasts in March, it expected Viet Nam's GDP to expand by 6.1 per cent last year and 6.2 per cent next year.

Meanwhile, it revised downward growth forecasts for the Asian region to 5.8 per cent in 2015 and 6 per cent in 2016, below the March forecast of 6.3 per cent for both years, due to the economic slowdown in China and India and a slow recovery in major industrial economies.

"The Vietnamese market is still attractive by positive GDP growth, strong consumer demand and FDI inflows," said Nguyen Ngoc Thach, head of brokerage services for individual clients at Saigon Securities Inc. "The short-term adjustment in the domestic market, which was caused by global events, has subsided."

Thach said volatility and unpredictability in the global markets would draw investors to stocks in consumer goods companies, insurers and building material manufacturers whose businesses would likely be more stable thanks to huge market demand.

Growth of large-cap stocks in HCM City continued to support the market as over half of top 30 shares by market value and liquidity climbed.

Dairy giant Vinamilk (VNM), the biggest stock by market value of almost VND122.5 trillion (US$5.4 billion), accounting for over 11 per cent of the market weighting, was the biggest gainer with a rise of 3 per cent to VND102,000 ($4.53) a share. VNM has risen 5 per cent over the last three days.

Liquidity also increased over Monday, totaling over 121 million shares worth VND1.84 trillion ($81.8 million), up 11 per cent in volume and 8 per cent in value. These figures were still lower than August's average of 121.5 million shares and VND2.2 trillion ($97.8 million).

The similar figures on the Ha Noi's exchange were much smaller, with the market volume reaching just nearly 47 million shares, worth VND545 billion ($24.2 million).

Quang Nam Rubber Investment Co (VHG) remained the most active stock nationwide with nearly 8.5 million shares traded but the price dropped 2.4 per cent to VND8,100 a share, ending a four-day rise. The company last Thursday announced a plan of buying back 5 million shares after receiving the nod from the State Securities Commission. — VNS