Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnamese shares were mixed on May 9 on the two local exchanges, while investors tried to take profits from banks after these stocks made good gains last week.
The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange pulled back 0.4 percent from a four-day rally of 2.5 percent to close at 603.85 points.
The HNX Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange managed to rise slightly to close at 80.40 points, ending a three-day fall of 0.4 percent.
“Banks were the major factor that drove the VN Index down as investors tried to look for profits in bank stocks after they made good gains last week,” Saigon-Hanoi Securities Corp (SHS) wrote in its daily report.
The three largest banks – Vietcombank (VCB), the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID) and Vietinbank (CTG) – struggled against selling pressure from investors.
VCB fell 1.2 percent from a three-day gain of 5.7 percent and BID dropped 1.7 percent from a two-day rise of 4.6 percent, while CTG struggled to remain flat.
In the financial sector, other stocks such as HCM City Securities Corp (HCM) and the Pan Group JSC (PAN) also saw declines.
HCM inched down 0.2 percent after it rose 3.2 percent during the previous three sessions and PAN decreased by 3.6 percent to extend a loss of 4.9 percent after it rocketed 18 percent in seven trading days.
Profit-taking was also seen in other stocks such as property developers Vingroup JSC (VIC) and Nam Long Investment Corp (NLG), consumer goods producer Masan Group (MSN), textile businesses Mirae JSC (KMR) and Thanh Cong Textile Garment Investment Trading JSC (TCM), and seafood company Hung Vuong JSC (HVG).
VIC retreated 1 percent, NLG decreased by 1.7 percent, MSN slipped 1.4 percent, KMR dipped 3 percent, TCM slid 2.6 percent and HVG slumped 2.9 percent.
On the opposite side, dairy firm Vinamilk (VNM), PetroVietnam Gas Corp (GAS), Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), Saigon-Hanoi Bank (SHB) and Kim Long Securities Corp (KLS) helped lift the markets.
VNM added 1.4 percent, ACB was up 1.1 percent, SHB rose 1.6 percent, and GAS and KLS advanced 1 percent each.
Both local markets combined traded more than 189.5 million shares worth 3.565 trillion VND (158.4 million USD), an increase of one-fifth from last week’s daily trading value.-VNA