Vietnamese shares advanced on Monday morning, driven by energy and agriculture stocks.
The benchmark VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange gained 0.39 per cent to close at 972.70 points.
The southern market index inched up total 0.04 per cent last week.
The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange rose 0.33 per cent to end at 108.38 points.
The northern market index was up total 2.66 per cent in the previous week.
More than 108 million shares were traded on the two bourses, worth VND2.09 trillion (nearly US$93 million).
Energy firms and agriculture companies were the driving factors for the stock market in the first trading session of the week.
The agriculture sector was pushed by the growth of Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAG) and its sub-unit HAGL Agrico (HNG), which gained 2.8 per cent and 4.2 per cent, respectively.
HAGL Agrico has announced it would increase its investment for banana farms to VND976 billion from the current VND780 billion on expectations that banana products would help boost the firm’s earnings.
Energy firms such as PetroVietnam Gas (GAS), PetroVietnam Coating Corp (PVB) and PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services (PVD) advanced after oil prices made strong gains in the last two sessions of last week.
Brent crude rose 1.5 per cent to close last week’s trading at $71.83 a barrel.
Other sectors that saw share prices rise included information and technology, real estate, banking and retail.
The afternoon trading session starts at 1pm.
Source: VNA