Shares rose in both local markets on Thursday morning, lifted by investor confidence following the meeting between the Prime Minister and the US president. — Photo doanhnhansaigon.vn

Shares rose in both local markets on Thursday morning, lifted by investor confidence following the meeting between the Prime Minister and the US president.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange gained 0.49 per cent to end at 741.46 points. It had fallen by a total 1.1 per cent over the past two days.

The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange advanced 0.37 per cent to close at 94.26 points. It had gained 0.7 per cent on Wednesday.

Around 115 million shares worth VND2.15 trillion (US$95.5 million) were traded on both local bourses.

Market sentiment was positive after Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc met US President Donald Trump on early Thursday morning.

At the meeting, the two leaders pledged to actively promote mutually beneficial and growing economic ties to bring greater prosperity to both countries, which indicates further investment from the US into Viet Nam.

During the PM’s US visit, a number of agreements have been signed between Vietnamese and American businesses, valued at $10 billion.

In the stock market, two-third of the 30 largest companies by market capitalisation advanced on Thursday morning, including dairy producer Vinamilk (VNM), Vietcombank (VCB) and Kinh Bac City Development Holdings (KBC).

At the other end, shares of domestic steel producers such as Hoa Sen Group (HSG) and Hoa Phat Group (HPG) suffered from profit-taking after they rose strongly on Wednesday, following the imposition of tariff by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on imported coloured steel products.

The afternoon session starts at 1pm. — VNS