Shares advanced on the country’s two main bourses on Wednesday morning as investors snapped up opportunities with positive first-half earnings reports coming in.

The VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange rose 1.33 per cent to end the morning at 933.54 points.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index was up over 1 per cent at 105.89 points.

A total of 146 million shares worth a combined VND2.9 trillion (US$126 million) were traded on the two markets during the morning session.

Large-cap stocks continued to drive the market.

Twenty three of the top 30 largest shares by market value and liquidity on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange gained value and only six declined.

Big gainers included BIDV (BID), Vietinbank (CTG), Military Bank (MBB) and Vietcombank (VCB), all climbing over 2 per cent, after some reported better-than-expected earnings in the first half.

Leading companies such as Vinamilk (VNM), PV Gas (GAS), FPT Corp (FPT), steelmaker Hoa Phat Group (HPG) and Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corp (REE) also rose from 2-5 per cent.

Since early this month, many companies have reported first-half earnings that have exceeded their targets and risen strongly against the same period last year. – VNS