An investor watches a trading board at the office of Bao Viet Securities Co. — VNS Photo Viet ThanhThe nation's stock exchanges saw fairly active trading last week as rising blue chips and renewed foreign investor interest created some new enthusiasm for the lagging market.

Many analysts were predicting another strong week this week in the lead up to the Tet (lunar new year) holiday.

On the HCM City Stock Exchange last week, the VN-Index gained 5.23 per cent over the previous week's close to conclude Friday's session at 354.33. The total volume of trades exceeded 281 million, an increase of over 200 per cent. The total value of transactions reached nearly VND4.3 trillion (US$203 million), an increase of 238.50 per cent.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX index closed the week at 56.27 points, essentially unchanged over the previous week. Market value over the course of the week totalled VND910.8 billion ($44 million), and increase of over 44 per cent, while volume climbed to 92.7 million units, up nearly 39 per cent from the previous week.

Foreign investors were net buyers in Ha Noi by a margin of VND24.3 billion ($1.2 million), but they were net sellers in HCM City of a net of VND1.75 trillion ($83.5 million) worth of shares. Their heavy activity in HCM City was attributed to the transfer of Sacombank (STB) shares from ANZ Bank to Eximbank last Monday.

Commenting on trends for the upcoming week, many analysts predicted that the market would maintain growth momentum. Analysts from Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) predicted solid gains in the coming week, with a focus on a handful of heavily-capitalised shares, but they noted that trading volumes continued to show signs of weakeing.

They expected the market to repeat the scenario in 2011, when a number of large caps peaked, only to slide after the lunar new year, dragging indices with them.

According to Bao Viet Securities Co analysts, investor psychology improved during the past week and the market was supported by net buys by foreign investors. Foreign capital flows were also concentrated on blue chips, providing a firm basis for the VN-Index to see positive changes.

Market development and investor psychology would continue to depend heavily on the course of a few key shares, such as Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), Masan Group (MSN) and Sacombank (CTG), they said, recommending that investors continue to be conservative and take advantage of strong gains in the next few sessions to thin out portfolios.

Source: VNS