Staff at the Ha Noi Stock Exchange supervise the Goverment bond auction session. The HNX-Index also increased from a three month low to 61.19 points, up 1.38 per cent over the previous session. — VNA/VNS Photo Tuan Anh

HA NOI (Biz Hub)— The mid-day drop turned out to be an opportunity for risk taking investors, which boosted both markets on Friday.

On the HCM City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index climbed 0.89 per cent to close on 472.70 points before dropping back to 462 points.

Blue chips bouncing back also helped to lift the market. The VN30 tracking the 30 largest shares on the bourse closed up 1.47 per cent at 531.23 points.

Vinamilk (VNM) and PV Gas (GAS) still lost 1.5 per cent each but others rose strongly. Vietcombank (VCB) was the biggest gainer with a rise of over 6 per cent, followed by Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), up by 5.6 per cent.

Eximbank (EIB) and PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services (PVD) moved upwards by around 4.5 per cent each, boosted by strong foreign buying.

Nearly 35.5 million shares worth VND739.3 billion (US$35.2 million) had changed hands by the end of the session, down 10 per cent in both market volume and value compared to the previous session.

Property developer An Duong Thao Dien Co (HAR) was still the most active yesterday, trading 1.6 million shares, a loss of 4.3 per cent to VND8,900 each.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index also increased from a three month low to 61.19 points, up 1.38 per cent over the previous session.

Trading improved on the northern bourse with the market volume up by 30 per cent to 17.2 million shares while the value of trading climbed 20 per cent to reach VND137.5 billion ($6.5 million).

Despite yesterday's surprising rises, many analysts believe the stock market is likely to fall in the medium and long terms, weighed down by foreign investors selling for a continuous period of time

The foreign sector remained the net sellers on the HCM City market yesterday, selling stock worth VND36 billion ($1.7 million). It also sold nearly VND200 billion ($9.5 million) worth of shares during the previous session.

According to analysts at the Bao Viet Securities Company, the majority of the stocks selling heavily recently were on the portfolio of Market Vectors Viet Nam.

"The fund will finish restructuring its portfolio in early September. Along with better developments on other emerging markets, we believe the current outflow will decrease and the market will become more balanced over the next few weeks," analysts predict. — VNS