Shares advanced on Thursday morning on both exchanges, driven by strong gains of energy stocks after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) finally reached a consensus on production cut.

On the HCM Stock Exchange, the VN-Index gained 0.6 per cent to close at 669.1 points, while on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index increased 1 per cent to end at 81.4 points. The two indices had risen 1 per cent and 0.8 per cent, respectively, in Wednesday’s trade.

Oil and gas stocks were the biggest gainers in Thursday morning’s session, with major shares such as PV Gas (GAS), PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service (PVD), PetroVietnam Drilling Mud (PVC), PetroVietnam Coating (PVB) and Petroleum Equipment Assembly & Metal Structure (PXS) hitting the daily limit of 7 per cent and 10 per cent in HCM and Ha Noi exchanges, respectively.

Oil future contracts gained more than 9 per cent on Wednesday after the 14-member OPEC decided to cut daily production for the first time in eight years by 1.2 million barrels a day, to a ceiling of 32.5 million barrels. The key non-OPEC oil producers have agreed to cut production by 600,000 barrels a day.

Financial and bank shares continued their upward movement as large-cap firms such as Vietcombank (VCB), Vietinbank (CTG), Sacombank (STB), Masan Group (MSN), HCM City Securities (HCM) and Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) all advanced.

At the other end of spectrum, the largest listed stock Vinamilk (VNM) went down 0.8 per cent after two-day rally.

The overall market condition was neutral, with 194 of total 691 stocks rising and 187 declining. Around 102 million shares worth VND2 trillion (US$88 million) were traded in the two markets.

The afternoon session starts at 1pm. — VNS