Vietnam stocks hit highest since July

The index closed 4.01 points higher after gaining 10.49 points in the previous session.

Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange decreased by 4% to VND21.80 trillion (US$885 million).

The VN-30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 18 tickers gained and 12 fell.

TPB of private TPBank led with a 6.7% surge, followed by HDB of HDBank, up 3.9%, and SSB of SeABank, up 2.1%.

Nine blue chips fell, including ACB of Asia Commercial Bankm, down 0.8%, and BCM of Becamex Investment and Industrial Development, down 0.7%.

Foreign investors were net buyers to the tune of VND961 billion, mainly buying TPB of private TPBank and VNM of dairy giant Vinamilk.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, rose 0.03%, while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market was unchanged.

Globally European shares followed Asia higher on Thursday, driven by news of aggressive economic stimulus from China and a fall in oil prices on a report that Saudi Arabia is preparing to abandon its unofficial price target of $100 a barrel, Reuters reported.

Europe's Stoxx 600 jumped 1% in early trading, closing in on August's all-time high, while Chinese onshore bluechips and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index were both up over 4%.

Japan’s Nikkei Index added 2.79% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 4.16%.