After Wednesday’s hiccup, the VN-Index returned to its winning ways again yesterday, gaining 2.77 per cent and surging to 511.27 points.


The value of the day’s trades on the HCM City Stock Exchange hit VND2.5 trillion (US$140.4 million), with volume continuing to remain high, at 62 million shares traded on the day, with foreign investors accounting for 8.1 million transactions.


Sacombank (STB) was the most active share on the day, with 7.4 million traded, a total that accounted for 11.7 per cent of the day’s volume.


The Ha Noi market also rebounded from Wednesday’s profit-taking, with the HASTC-Index yesterday gaining 3.62 per cent to close at 186.24 points. The value of the trades on the northern bourse reached VND1.5 trillion ($84.3 million) on a volume of 39.9 million shares.


Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) was the most active share at the Ha Noi Securities Trading Centre, with 7.2 million traded.


Veteran HCM City investor Nguyen Thanh Ha suggested strong activity in blue chips yesterday signalled today’s rebound.


Dao Van Khanh, an analyst with a Ha Noi-based securities company, said that the market uptrend remained risky for investors as share prices could begin to exceed their real values.


"Investors have become more greedy," Khanh said. "They saw the market growing and they tried to blow it up. The market now needs more than one corrective session to regain its balance."


"From the standpoint of a securities investor, corporate profits are always the leading factor as they reflect corporate health," said Artex Securities Co general director Phan Van Ha.


Profits of listed enterprises in the first quarter of the year rose by VND4.5 trillion ($252.8 million) compared to the fourth quarter of 2008, stimulating investors to return to stocks after a prolonged bear market, Ha said.


She suggested, however, that investors ascertain whether posted profits were derived from the core business activities of the enterprise or from provisionary funds drawn upon during the economic crisis.