An investor watches stock movements on her computer. (Photo: VNA)

In May, there was a notable increase in the number of new securities accounts opened by domestic investors in the country, with a total of 132,010 accounts opened.

Specifically, 131,839 accounts were opened by individual investors and 171 accounts were opened by institutional investors.

Although there was a strong recovery, the number of new securities accounts in May 2024 remained lower compared to the figure in March, which was 163,621 accounts.

Also in May, foreign investors opened 210 new accounts. Among them, 217 accounts were opened by individual investors, while institutional investors saw a decrease of seven accounts.

Last month, the market benchmark VN-Index increased by 5.9%, the HNX-Index rose by 8.9% and the UPCoM-Index grew by 7.2% month-on-month.

The rise in the VN-Index was mainly attributed to the strong net profit growth of listed companies in the first quarter. The market also benefited from bottom-fishing demand, following a significant decline in April.

The VN-Index has risen by 13% since the beginning of the year.

However, the market's recovery in May was accompanied by weak liquidity, indicating cautiousness due to factors like increasing exchange rate pressure and domestic interest rates.

The average trading value on all three exchanges decreased by 10.6% compared to the previous month but increased by 71.2% over last year, reaching 23.1 trillion VND per session (908.6 million USD).

Of which, the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE)’s average trading value was 20.2 trillion VND per session, while the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX)’s was 1.9 trillion VND per session, down 12.9% from April. And UPCoM's was 1.1 trillion VND per session, a 53.9% increase over the previous month.

Experts attributed the strong increase in average trading value on the UPCoM exchange to positive developments relating to Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited (BSR).

BSR has shown good growth prospects, with increased cash flow and improved business production.

Notably, the company approved an expansion project for the Dung Quat refinery, aiming to increase crude oil processing capacity to 171,000 barrels per day by 2028. It plans to enter the petrochemical sector in the future.

On the stock market, BSR intends to transfer 3.1 billion shares from UPCoM to HoSE./.