In the first two months of this year, penny stocks dominated the market with significant growth.— Photo vinacorp.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub)  — Several stocks witnessed huge gains within the first two months of the current year along with market rally and improved liquidity.

According to statistics revealed by Dau Tu Chung Khoan (Securities Investment), among the listed stocks on both the national exchanges, 230 codes increased at a rate of more than 30 per cent.

Out of the 230 codes, 169 hiked by around 30 per cent, 54 others by roughly 50 per cent, and eight even advanced more than 100 per cent, which is much higher than the average market growth rate.

In the first two months of the current year, the VN-Index on the southern bourse increased 16 per cent over the last year's closing value, which is equivalent to more than 73 per cent of the growth rate of the last full year. Meanwhile, the HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Exchange gained 22 per cent.

Notably, penny stocks dominated the market with significant growth.

The shares of the VNECO 8 Electricity Construction Joint Stock Company (VE8) jumped from VND2,700 (US$0.12) to VND6,600 ($0.31), or a rise of 144.4 per cent, which was attributed to the reported profit during the fourth quarter last year, after being put under warning from April to August due to reported losses.

The Ha Tinh Book and Equipment Education Joint Stock Company (HBE) jumped 140 per cent to reach VND10,100 ($0.48) and the Construction&Development Service Company of Quang Nam Post and Telecommunications (QCC), a penny stock, also posed a growth of 138 per cent to reach VND5,000 ($0.23) per share.

The shares of the coal sector also experienced bullish movement after shifting from losses to profits during 2013.

The Coc Sau Coal Joint Stock Company (TC6) advanced 127.78 per cent to reach VND9,000 ($0.42) per share with VND97.17 billion ($4.6 million) profit reported during the fourth quarter last year after recording losses for nine consecutive months.

The real estate stocks remained stable in the first two months this year with many stocks increasing more than 50 per cent, such as the Nam Bay Bay Investment Company (NBB), Ha Do Group (HDG), and Hoa Binh Real Estate Company (HBC).

Blue chips, despite optimistic business results, recorded a milder growth rate, partly due to their already high market prices.

Stock analysts have pointed out that investors still preferred blue chips as they aimed for long-term profits while speculative stocks were often targeted by risk-takers.

Securities firms also warned investors about risks when speculative stocks had remained bullish for several months. — VNS