Vietnam shares rose 2.22 per cent on Friday, led by strong gains in banking stocks, including Hanoi-based Vietcombank, the country’s top lender by market value.
Shares of Vietcombank rose 6.94 per cent. The stock has been attracting both foreign and domestic inflows in recent sessions, as investors bet on positive results and amid talk of the lender buying out a smaller local bank, analysts said.
The benchmark VN Index was up 10.87 points at 0316 GMT at 564.34.
The gains in banking stocks spread positive sentiment across the market and in most blue-chips. Analysts expect the banking sector will lead the index’s gain in the coming two weeks to as high as 580 points.