Stocks rebounded Wednesday on the Ho Chi Minh Stock
Exchange as the recovery on international stock markets boosted
investor confidence.


The VN-Index, Vietnam’s main stock index, moved up sharply soon after the opening bell on heavy buying.


But the uptick ran out of steam in the second session
which saw heavy trading with 18.7 million shares changing hands. The
benchmark index eventually closed 8.82 points, or 2.73 percent, up at
331.62.


Trading volume was high, with 23.3 million shares
traded, compared with Monday’s 14.7 million and Tuesday’s 18.2 million.
Of the index’s members, 132 advanced and 21 declined.


Nguyen Hai Son, a broker at FPT Securities Co. in HCMC
said sentiment was the key driver. “Investors were buoyant after gains
on stock markets around the world,” he said.


But it is hard to make a prediction now since the
market moves rely mainly on investor confidence, which is driven by the
international markets, he said.


Asian stocks soared for a second straight day
Wednesday after a strong rally on Wall Street as hopes mounted for
further interest rate cuts to shore up the global economy.


Japan's Nikkei stock index jumped more than 7 percent
in early trade, regaining the key 8,000-points level, after the Dow
Jones had soared almost 11 percent in New York overnight.


Shares jumped almost 8 percent in Seoul and 4.5 percent in Sydney. Singapore saw a gain of 3.8 percent.


In Canada, the Toronto Stock Exchange rebounded 7.2
percent, nearly erasing Tuesday's 8.14 percent plunge, the worst
single-session drop in 21 years.


In the wake of huge gains in Asia, European exchanges
rebounded. London's FTSE 100 index rose 1.92 percent and the Paris CAC
40 gained 1.55 percent.


The Frankfurt DAX, again powered by big gains for Volkswagen, soared 11.28 percent to 4,823.45.


In Latin America's biggest stock market, Brazil's
Ivobespa index soared 13.42 percent, while Argentina's Merval jumped
6.58 percent.


Stocks’ performances


Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank, the
exchange’s only listed traded lender, remained the most active stock by
volume, with 2.4 million shares changing hands.


The HCMC-based lender edged up VND900, or 4.74 percent, to close at VND19,900.


Vitaly Joint Stock Co., Hanoi P&T Construction
& Installation Joint stock Co., Petrolimex Joint Stock Tanker Co.
and furniture maker Savimex Corp. were the top four movers Wednesday,
all rising by the daily maximum limit.


Lam Dong Mineral and Building Material Joint Stock Co.
and Lu Gia Mechanical Electric Joint Stock Co. were the two biggest
losers, both plummeting 4.98 percent.


Foreigners have been net sellers since early this month, notching up net sales of VND71.5 billion (US$4.3 million).