An investor at Hai Phong Securities Company’s branch in Hanoi (Source:VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnamese shares were mixed for a third day on the two local exchanges on May 6, while blue chips continued to attract foreign investors with positive quarterly performances.
The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange rose 0.8 percent to close at 606.52 points, rallying 2.5 percent over the last four trading days.
The banking sector was driven up by Vietcombank (VCB), Vietinbank (CTG) and Military Bank (MBB), which all saw higher profits in the first three months of 2016 from last year’s figures.
VCB, CTG and MBB recorded a year-on-year increase of 62 percent, 54 percent and 13.8 percent in their net profits during the first quarter, respectively.
They also became attractive to foreign investors, whose buying volumes accounted for at least 38 percent of total trading volumes in these three banks.
By the end of the session, VCB and CTG had jumped 3.2 percent and 3.6 percent each, while MBB was up 1.3 percent.
Additionally, large-cap stocks in other sectors also made gains and boosted local markets.
Property developer VingroupJSC (VIC) added 1.9 percent, and foreign purchasing volume represented more than a quarter of the stock’s trading volume.
In the consumer goods industry, food producer Masan Group (MSN) advanced 2.1 percent. Foreign investors bought nearly half of the stock’s trading volume.
In the agriculture sector, Hoang Anh Gia Lai JSC (HAG) and its subsidiary HAGL Agricultural JSC (HNG) bounced back after a two-day decline, making these two stocks attractive to investors.
HAG and HNG rose 1.4 percent and 1.3 percent after falling 7.5 percent and 9.4 percent in the previous two sessions.
Cell phone retailer Mobile World Investment Corp (MWG) was up 1.9 percent to lift the retail sector after the company saw a year-on-year increase of 80 percent in the first-quarter net profit to 418 billion VND (18.6 million USD).
Other large-cap stocks that supported the southern market included the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID), PetroVietnam Gas Corp (GAS) and HCM City Securities Corp (HCM).
Meanwhile, the HNX Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange ended nearly flat at 80.37 points, extending a three-day decline of 0.4 percent.
The northern bourse was pulled down by Bao Viet Securities Corp (BVS), insurer PVI Holdings (PVI), PetroVietnam Technical Service Corp (PVS) and Sai Gon-Hanoi Bank (SHB).
Both local markets exchanged nearly 168 million shares worth 2.78 trillion VND (123.6 million USD), a decrease of 10 percent from May 5’s trading value.-VNA
