Local shares advanced on Monday morning as the insurance sector surged on the back of Bao Viet Holdings.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange gained 0.60 per cent to 884.27 points.

The VN-Index increased by total 2.83 per cent last week.

The market was boosted by the strong growth of the insurance industry, which rose 2.6 per cent, according to vietstock.vn.

The large-cap insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) jumped 4.6 per cent to lift the sector up.

Other insurance stocks such as BIDV Insurance (BIC) and Petrolimex Insurance (PGI) added 0.7 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively.

Other gaining sectors included banking, food and beverage, plastics and chemicals, retail, and materials.

The large-cap group also made good gains as its tracker VN30-Index was up 0.44 per cent to 825.58 points. But mid-cap and small-cap stocks varied.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index fell 0.18 per cent to 125.62 points in the morning session.

The HNX-Index retreated from an eight-day rally of total 7.54 per cent, which started on August 19.

More than 241 million shares were traded on the two exchanges, worth VND4.10 trillion (US$177 million).

The afternoon trading session starts at 1pm. — VNS