The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange remained positive on Thursday following healthy performances of global share markets.

VN-Index, the gauge of 174 stocks on Vietnam’s major exchange, moved up on soon after the opening time, before slumping in the second session due to heavy selling from investors’ profit-taking.

However, the index eventually rebounded to close higher 4.21 points, or 0.76 percent, at 561.19 as investors returned into buying mood, believing the market is really in a bullish trend. Of the index members, 69 stocks advanced and 75 dropped.

The market’s liquidity continued to be improved as trading volume increased 9 percent from the previous day, with 73.3 million shares worth VND3.64 trillion changing hands.

“Investors confident on the HCMC exchange today was boosted by stock markets’ rallies around the world,” said a broker.

The U.S.’s stocks rose for a third day on Wednesday, hitting fresh 2009 highs in a broad-based rally following economic data that suggested a stronger-than-anticipated global recovery, according to Reuters.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 108.30 points, or 1.12 percent, at 9,791.71. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 16.13 points, or 1.53 percent, at 1,068.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 30.51 points, or 1.45 percent, at 2,133.15.

Asian stocks also hit their highest level in 13 months on Thursday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rising 1 percent, S&P/ASX 200 Index gaining 1.5 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbing 1.8 percent.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.8 percent to 118.55 as of 2 p.m. in Tokyo, the highest since September 9, 2008. The gauge has climbed 68 percent from a more than five-year low on March 9 as stimulus measures around the world pulled economies out of recession. Stocks on the gauge are priced at an average 1.6 times book value, up from 1.03 times at the March low.

Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint-Stock Bank (STB), known as Sacombank, remained the most active stock by volume, with a record trading volume of 15.8 million shares being traded. The HCMC-based lender rose 3.48 percent to close at VND32,700.

At the smaller bourse in Hanoi, the HNX-Index swung between negative and positive territories before closing lower 0.19 point, or 0.11 percent, to finish at 174.68.

The UPCoM-Index of the unlisted stock rose slightly 1.03 points, or 1.62 percent, to close at 64.67 as of 11 am.