Vietnamese shares rose on both local markets on Friday morning, driven by dairy producer Vinamilk and brewer Sabeco.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange gained 0.39 per cent to close at 774.76 points. It increased a total of 0.5 per cent in the previous two sessions.

The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange inched up 0.20 per cent to end at 98.99 points. The northern market index witnessed a two-day advance of 0.8 per cent.

More than 132.3 million shares were traded on both local exchanges, worth VND2.34 trillion (US$104 million).

The stock market was lifted by shares of dairy producer Vinamilk (VNM) and brewer Sabeco (SAB), which increased by 1.7 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively.

Fuel distributor Petrolimex (PLX) and PetroVietnam Gas (GAS) also contributed to the market’s gain with growth rates of 0.4 per cent and 1.4 per cent.

On the opposite side, finance and banking stocks were a burden on the stock market as they suffered from profit-taking.

Four of the nine listed banks decreased, including Vietinbank (CTG), Eximbank (EIB) and Sacombank (STB).

Sacombank on Friday morning held its annual shareholder meeting, targeting pre-tax profit of VND585 billion in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 276 per cent.

Other financial stocks such as BIDV Securities (BSI), Sai Gon-Ha Noi Securities (SHS), Sai Gon Securities Inc (SSI) and HCM City Securities (HCM) also declined.

The afternoon sessions starts at 1pm. — VNS