Stock investors unfazed by first Omicron case

The index fluctuated around 1,490 points throughout the day and closed 5.5 points higher even though a person returning to Hanoi from the U.K. was confirmed to carry the quick-spreading Omicron variant.

It is now over six points away from breaking the previous peak in November.

Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, rose 31 percent to VND29.03 trillion ($1.27 billion).

The VN30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 14 tickers in the green, led by STB of HCMC-based lender Sacombank with a 6.9 percent rise to the highest in a month.

Two banking stocks followed: HDB of HDBank gained 6.1 percent in its third gaining session, while TPB of private TPBank rose 3.2 percent to a new peak.

GAS of state-owned Petrovietnam Gas gained 2.3 percent and ACB of Asia Commercial Bank rose 1.5 percent.

Fourteen tickers ended in the red, with NVL of real estate developer Novaland Group falling 2.2 percent and GVR of Vietnam Rubber Group losing 1.9 percent.

Foreign investors were net buyers for the third straight session to the tune of VND362 billion with focus on VHM of real estate giant Vinhomes and CTG of state-owned lender VietinBank.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, rose 1.92 percent while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market gained 0.06 percent.