In a trading week foreshortened by two national holidays last week, investors scrambled to pick up shares and managed to give the VN-Index a 4.36-per-cent in just three trading days.


The Index ended the week last Wednesday at 321.63 points.


Average daily volume was 22.6 million shares, representing a daily value of VND542.2 billion (US$30.5 million).


Shares in tourism and entertainment saw the biggest advance, gaining just over 4 per cent on the week, according to FPT Securities Co, followed by banking and financial shares, up an average 2.3 per cent.


With over 7 million shares changing hands, Sacombank (STB) became the most active share on the week, accounting for about 15 per cent of the daily market volume.


Shares in the automotive sector, meanwhile, suffered the biggest loss on the week, off over 3 per cent in value.


Ha Noi-based analyst Dao Van Khanh said that many investors wanted to hold shares before the holiday as many were hovering at very cheap prices. "Investors were likely anticipating a coming rally," Khanh said.


Stimulated securities investment helped reduce the anxiety of investors over the swine flu outbreak, the latest issue hanging over the heads of investors worldwide, said FPT Securities analyst Nguyen The Dinh in the brokerage's latest weekly report on the stock market.


The US Federal Reserve was to release results this coming week of "stress tests" it had conducted to measure the financial stability of 19 leading banks. The test results were likely to have a certain impact on markets worldwide, including Viet Nam's, Dinh said.


"However, the incentive to invest, echoing this past week, will maintain next week's transactions, helping restrain any impact from the stress tests on the local market," said Dinh.


In Ha Noi this past week, the HASTC-Index also added 4.36 per cent to end trading on Wednesday at 115 points. Average daily trading volume reached 13.4 million shares worth VND353.4 billion ($19.9 million).


Kim Long Securities (KLS) led the northern bourse on the week, with over 9 million shares changing hands.


Week ahead


Chang-hoon Choi, chief investment officer of Thang Long Meritz, a newly-launched investment fund, said that the domestic stock market would likely see little change in the first week of May.


"There have been jumps and a little corrections in the Viet Nam stock market so far in this year, so it is a very difficult time to forecast the VN-Index," Choi said.


Exports and the financial sector would continue to benefit from Government policies, Choi said.


Choi believed that the global economy was seeing some signs of recovery", including renewed consumer demand, a rebound in the financial markets and a stabler housing market.


He said he saw swine flu as a small negative factor against these other signs.


"And I am sure that the Viet Nam economic situation would be better than the global economy," he added.


FPT Securities analysts predicted that the HASTC-Index would continue in the range of 109-123 points in coming week, while the VN-Index would move between 310 and 335.