The VN-Index made a modest overall gain of 0.89 percent over the course of last week, closing on Friday at 522.03, just above the recent resistance mark of 520.
The State Bank of Viet Nam on Wednesday made the final step in its recent process to deregulate lending interest rates, allowing commercial banks to charge "negotiated" or market rates on short-term loans. Meanwhile, commercial bank had begun lowering lending rates by an average of two percentage points, providing enterprises with easier access to capital.
Global markets also developed favourably during the week, with the US Dow Jones surpassing 11,000 points, helped reinforce growing investor confidence in the global economic recovery.
Together, this news helped lift the average daily value of trades on the HCM City Stock Exchange last week to VND1.9 trillion (US$100 million), on an average volume of over 51 million shares.
Most capital flowed toward penny stocks, with shares of Petrolimex International Trading Company (PIT) and machinery producer Alphanam Company (ALP) hitting their ceiling prices in every session, gaining a cumulative 25.15 per cent and 21.64 per cent on the week, respectively.
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index also gained over 1 per cent over the course of five session to close on Friday at 172.6 points. Average volumes were brisk, at over 45.8 million shares per day, with an average trading value of VND1.6 trillion ($84.2 million).
Data from FPT Securities Company showed that more capital flowed into the Ha Noi market on Monday than into the HCM City market.
Small- to mid-caps attracted the bulk of investor interest, with large caps largely sidelined due to flat earnings-per-share growth and dilution concerns, wrote Fiachra Mac Cana, head of research at HCM City Securities Company, in a market report on Friday.
Le Thi Le Hang, a market analyst with FPT Securities, also noted that special incentives, such as bonus shares and stock splits, had been affecting share prices.
Hang predicted that the VN-Index would range this week between 515 and 530 and recommended that investors concentrate on blue chips, since the recent focus on penny stocks had made them vulnerable to market corrections.
"If the VN-Index continues rising, 535-540 points will be the new resistance zone," said Tai Viet Securities Company analyst Nguyen Quang Minh.