Blue chip stocks hit weekly high

The index closed 17.34 points higher after losing 3.4 points Friday.

Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange increased by nearly 21 percent to VND12.32 trillion ($529.7 million).

The VN-30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, surged to the highest in a week with 26 tickers gaining.

SSI of leading brokerage SSI Securities rose 6.7 percent, extending its gaining streak to the fourth session in a row.

NVL of real estate developer Novaland closed 6.5 percent higher, with trading value highest since last December.

Other winners included PNJ of Phu Nhuan Jewelry, up 6.1 percent, and HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat, up 5 percent.

Four bucked the trend, led by VIC of Vietnam's biggest conglomerate Vingroup JSC with a 1.1 percent drop. The ticker is now at a 27-month low, having fallen 42 percent from its peak last April.

VNM of dairy giant Vinamilk, and MWG of electronics retailer Mobile World both lost 0.6 percent.

VCB of the largest state-owned lender Vietcombank closed 0.1 percent lower.

Foreign investors were net buyers to the tune of VND250.6 billion, focusing on VND of brokerage VNDirect Securities, CTG of VietinBank and GEX of Gelex Group.

The HNX-Index at the Hanoi Stock Exchange, where mid and small caps list, was up 1.63 percent while the UPCoM-Index at the Unlisted Public Companies Market was up by 1.15 percent.