Viet Nam’s benchmark VN-Index surpassed the 1,000-point landmark on Thursday morning as investors continued to pour money into large caps.

The VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange increased 0.79 per cent to close the morning trade at 1,002.37 points.

Liquidity was positive with nearly 125 million shares worth VND2.7 trillion (US$116 million) being traded.

Blue chips led the market upturn as 18 of the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity on the southern bourse gained value and only 10 declined.

The market’s heavyweight stocks such as Vingroup (VIC), Vincom Retail (VRE) and Vinamilk (VNM) all increased between 2 per cent and 3.6 per cent.

Banking shares were among big gainers with 10 of 13 listed banks increasing. The three largest banks by market value – Vietinbank (CTG), Vietcombank (VCB) and BIDV (BID) – increased between 0.5 per cent and 1.4 per cent.

The northern market also performed well with the HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange edging up 0.83 per cent at 109.37 points.

Nearly 53 million shares worth VND500 billion changed hands.

The afternoon trade starts at 1pm. – VNS