Buying pressure was surprisingly strong at the Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi stock exchanges on Friday. 

 The trading value approached VND1,400 billion at the southern bourse and VND500 billion at its little sister in the north.

At the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, the bids kept pouring in to push the VN-Index up 16.68 points to 1,046.86.

In just five sessions, the index has gained 88.19 points, or 9.2 percent.

FPT Corporation (FPT) was keenly sought and rose limit up to VND273,000, while an astonishing 90 percent of Vinamilk (VNM) shares changed hands.

Petro Vietnam Tourism and Services (PET) also stayed in the spotlight by going limit up.

So too did North Kinh Do (NKD), Sudico (SJS) and Vietnam Petroleum Transport (VIP).

Other big caps joined the party and put on healthy gains, with Hau Giang Pharmaceuticals (DHG) increasing by VND12,000 and Sacombank (SAM) adding VND5,000.

Across the board, 101 stocks went up in what was undoubtedly the best session of the past six months.

More strong gains can be expected next month when the listed companies announce their results for the first nine months of the year.

By Ba Tan, Cat Tri – Translated by Phuong Lan