Shares extended their rally during yesterday's session on both of the nation's stock exchanges.

The rally was largely due to the revision of portfolios by exchange-traded funds, said ACB Securities Co analyst Le Huynh Nhut Hai.

"Foreign players tend to have actively bought some specific stocks recently, and we expect this trend to continue," Hai wrote in a note.

The FTSE fund, for instance, has announced that it would release information tomorrow on its adjusted portfolio.

The fund's Viet Nam FTSE Index currently tracks 23 large-cap stocks which still have room for foreign investors.

Shares mostly heavily represented in the fund's portfolio include property developer Vingroup (VIC), accounting for over 17 per cent of fund holdings; food processor Masan Group (MSN), accounting for over 14 per cent; and Phu My Fertilisers (DPM), 8.85 per cent. All of these companies still have additional shares outstanding under regulated foreign ownership limits representing 21-29 per cent of equity in the company.

The State Securities Commission has indicated that the Government might lift the cap of 49 per cent foreign ownership in companies in some specific sectors with a particular need to attract capital. In addition, some foreign investors have urged the Government to increase the cap pertaining to domestic commercial banks from 30 to 49 per cent.

In trading yesterday on the HCM City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index added 0.94 per cent over the previous session to close at 385.69 points. The value of trades rose 15.3 per cent to VND440.74 billion (US$20.9 million) on a volume of 40.5 million shares, while advancers outnumbered decliners by 163-69.

The VN30 Index, tracking the southern bourse's leading shares by market capitalisation and liquidity, increased by 0.8 per cent to 451.61 points, with 22 out of 30 shares seeing gains and real estate developer Tan Tao reaching its ceiling price. In this group of shares, only Phu Nhuan Jewelry (PNJ) and software provider FPT retreated.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index added another 1 per cent, concluding the day at 52.10 points. Value reached VND217.4 billion ($10.3 million), an increase of about 47 per cent over the previous session, while the volume of trades climbed to 39.2 million shares.
Gainers overwhelmed losers on the northern market by 130-62, and the HNX30 Index also rose by 1.24 per cent to 95.17 points.