Busy trading, buoyed by increased foreign-investor
interest and gains on world markets, helped domestic stock indices
advance significantly last week.
The movement came despite unfavourable economic data
issued during the week, including sluggish growth figures and a plunge
in foreign direct investment in the first quarter.


The VN-Index rose a cumulative 20.79 points during the
week to close on Friday at 287.41, a rise of 7.8 per cent over the
previous Friday's close.


Trading volumes averaged 24.8 million shares per day,
up 15 per cent over the the previous week's average. Average daily
turnover was VND532.8 billion (US$31.3 million), an increase of 28 per
cent.


Major stocks like Hoa Phat Group ([url="http://www.vietstock.com.vn/vstfinance/StockDetail.aspx?scode=HPG&q=HPG" style="color: rgb(23, 50, 128); text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">HPG), Phu My Fertilisers (DPM) and Refrigeration Electrical Engineering (