The Vietnam exchange traded fund surged Thursday as the benchmark Vietnamese bourse touched a three-and-half year high.
The Market Vectors Vietnam ETF (NYSEArca: VNM) rose 4.7% Thursday. VNM is up 5.4% so far this year and gained 9.1% over the past three months. [Vietnam ETF Could Shine in 2014]
Vietnam’s benchmark VN Index gained 1.3%, closing at 533.5, according to Bloomberg data. In comparison, the last time the index hovered around these levels was in May 11, 2010 when it was at 534.4.
Analysts point to gains in blue chip firms with good corporate earnings as the main catalyst for growth, reports Mai Nguyen for Reuters.
PetroVietnam, the country’s largest firm, led gains, with shares rising over 4.0%. The Market Vectors ETF has multiple holdings in PetroVietnam interests, including 8.3% in Petrovietnam Technical Services, 7.1% in Petrovietnam Fertilizer & Chemical and 5.1% in Petrovietnam Drilling And Well Services.
Additionally, steel producer Hoa Phat Group increased over 3%. Hoa Phat Group makes up 2.6% of VNM.
Analysts point out that Vietnamese equities have been strengthening in recent sessions as foreign investors pick up Vietnam’s blue chips. The VN Index has increased 10 sessions in a row.
Nguyen Tuan, deputy manager at An Binh Securities, expects the VN index to further expand in the short-term due to favorable earnings from large-caps, Reuters reports.
VNM top sectors include financials 35.9%, energy 24.0% and industrials 12.8%. The ETF includes about 25% in larger names, with 4.4% in mega-caps and 20.8% in large-capitalization stocks, followed by 47.9% in mid-caps and 24% in small-caps.
Market Vectors Vietnam ETF
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Max Chen contributed to this article.