Vietnam’s Stocks Erase 2020 Losses Amid Optimism Over Economy

(Bloomberg) -- Vietnam’s stocks rallied the most in seven weeks on Friday, helping the benchmark gauge erase its year-to-date losses.

The VN Index rallied 1.2% to close at 961.26, with shares in real estate developer Vingroup JSC, the country’s biggest company by market value, climbing 3.9%. The measure has rallied more than 12% over the past three months, the best performance in Southeast Asia, taking its rebound from this year’s low in March to 46%.

The gains have come amid optimism over Vietnam’s export-reliant economy, which is one of the few in Asia that are expected to expand this year, led by a recovery in trade and manufacturing from lockdown-induced disruptions. Economic growth in 2021 will likely accelerate to about 6% after an estimated 2%-3% this year, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said this week.

“I‘m bullish on market from now to the end of the year,” according to Nguyen Anh Duc, head of institutional sales at SSI Securities Corp. in Hanoi. The list of positive factors includes a consumption-driven economic recovery, strong exports and higher government investment, he said.

The recovery in Vietnamese stocks has been supported by investments from local funds, as foreigners have been net sellers of equities worth $439 million this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

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