Industrial real estate stocks soared on Monday but their gains were not enough to cushion the market, overclouded by a cautious market sentiment.

The securities market has been successful over the past 20 years, but has to grow rapidly now to achieve emerging market status, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told a ceremony held to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Vietnamese stock market at the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange on July 20.

Vietnam’s stock market has been the platform to help firms like Vietcombank, Vinamilk and Vingroup, expand to regional and global stages.

Vietnamese shares declined on Monday morning when the market celebrated its 20th anniversary as large-caps fell under poor sentiment.

Brokerages have forecast that the benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh exchange may approach 900 points by the end of this year despite worries over a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Shares flip-flopped early on Friday as investors dumped stocks in the “Vin” family, weighing down the overall stock market.

Shares extended losses on Friday morning on low liquidity due to the weak performance of market’s blue-chips.

Intermediary financial institutions instead of bond issuers should be empowered to recognise professional investors when they come to purchase corporate bonds in the secondary market, regulatory experts have urged.