The benchmark VN-Index hit an almost decade-high yesterday after large cash flows poured into blue-chip stocks on investor optimism over a sustainable uptrend.

On the HCM Stock Exchange, the VN-Index closed up 1.56 per cent at 932.66 points, the highest since December 12, 2008. The key market index has expanded 11.4 per cent since the beginning of November.

Bank and energy stocks were the major supporter yesterday while the engines of the previous sessions – VinGroup (VIC) and Vinamilk (VNM) – tumbled under high profit-taking pressure.

All six listed banks on the southern bourse gained value yesterday, of which Vietinbank (CTG) and BIDV (BID) – two of the Big Four (four biggest banks by market value and total assets) – hit the daily rise limit of 7 per cent.

Other banks with positive performance, like VPBank (VCB), Eximbank (EIB) and Sacombank (STB) increased by between 1.7 per cent and 4.6 per cent.

Major energy stocks including PV Gas (GAS), PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services (PVD) and Petrolimex (PLX) rallied by over 2 per cent each thanks to positive developments in the global oil market.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude prices climbed correspondingly 3.9 per cent and 2.2 per cent over the past week amid investor optimism on an extension of the OPEC’s oil supply cut pact at the meeting on November 30 in Vienna.

“The alternate increases of large-cap stocks are expected to support the market’s uptrend in the short term. However, the market will also see a wide divergence with cash inflows mostly running into stocks with supportive information,” Tran Duc Anh, a stock analyst at Bao Viet Securities Co, wrote in a report yesterday.

Twenty-six stocks of the top 30 largest shares by market value and liquidity (VN30) on the HCM Stock Exchange advanced and only four declined.

VinGroup’s shares dropped 1.3 per cent after five consecutive rising sessions while shares of Vinamilk fell 2.2 per cent.

Positive sentiment extended to the northern stock exchange with the HNX-Index rising 1.17 per cent to close trade at 109.29 points after a two-day loss.

Liquidity was almost unchanged compared with the previous session with a total of 261.6 million shares worth a combined VND7.2 trillion (US$315.8 million) traded in the two markets. — VNS