Shares rallied on both national stock exchanges on the first day of a new settlement application called Trade Plus Three, or T+3.

Investors can now sell shares from their portfolios only three days after they buy, instead of four days as before. The move is expected to boost the liquidity of stocks.

On the HCM City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index rebounded by 1.66 per cent to reach 402.59 points. Market sentiment was positive, with 149 of 264 listed stocks gaining value.

As nearly 23.2 million shares changed hands, the value of trades totalled VND335.37 billion (US$15.9 million).

Of the 30 top shares tracked by the VN30, only Kinh Do Confectionery Co (KDC) and PetroVietnam Drilling Services Co (PVD) retreated.

Meanwhile, four others hit their daily increase limit, including food processors Masan Group (MSN) and Bourbon Tay Ninh (SBT) and construction firms HCM City Infrastructure Investment (CII) and Tan Tao (ITA).

Bank stocks no longer suffer from heavy sells. Eximbank (EIB), Vietinbank (CTG), Vietcombank (VCB) and Military Bank (MBB) advanced between 0.6-2.4 per cent.

The VN30 added nearly 2 per cent to 473.98 points.

The benchmark HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange also edged up 0.5 per cent, standing at 61.72 points.

Market value reached VND155.8 billion ($7.4 million) on a volume of 16.3 million shares.
The HNX30, representing the northern bourse's leading shares in terms of capitalisation and liquidity, concluded this morning's session up 0.5 per cent to 117.09 points.

Afternoon trading will start at 1 pm