Vietnam’s benchmark VN Index, a measure of 178 companies on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, rose 0.3 percent to 618.48, the highest since March 14, 2008.

Among the index members, 97 advanced, 63 dropped and 18 were unchanged.

Hoa Phat Group Joint-Stock Co. (HPG VN), Vietnam’s biggest listed steel producer, gained 2 percent to VND76,500, the highest since Aug. 25, 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The company said profit jumped 50 percent in the third quarter to VND359 billion (US$20 million), boosting profit in the nine months ended September to more than VND1 trillion, according to a statement on its website Wednesday.

Kinh Do Corp. (KDC VN), the country’s biggest listed producer of baked goods and candy, surged 4.7 percent to VND101,000, the highest since March 20, 2008.

Ho Chi Minh City-based Kinh Do raised its pretax profit forecast this year to VND530 billion from an April target of VND256 billion on the country’s better-than-expected economic performance, Le Phung Hao, Kinh Do’s deputy general director, said Tuesday.

Net income for the nine months to end-September more than tripled to VND454 billion from a year earlier, he said.

General Forwarding & Agency Joint-Stock Co. (GMD VN), the biggest freight company on Vietnam’s main bourse, fell 3 percent to VND96,000 dong. Vietnam National Shipping Lines, known as Vinalines, will sell 2 million Gemadept shares to cut its stake in the company to 10.5 percent from 14.73 percent, according to a statement filed on the exchange’s website. The sale starts October 22 and will be completed by December 31.