Local banks attracted a large volume of foreign purchases this morning. — Photovietnamplus.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Vietnamese shares continued to be mixed on the two local markets, even as banks attracted a large buying volume from foreign investors.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange gained 0.7 per cent to close at 603.32 points.

A large foreign purchasing volume lifted listed banks on the southern bourse, including Vietcombank (VCB), Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BID) and Vietinbank (CTG).

VCB rose 2.6 per cent, BID added 2.9 per cent and CTG advanced 3 per cent.

Property developers also helped raise the markets, announcing positive results for the first quarter of this year.

Vingroup JSC (VIC) increased by 2 per cent and Hoang Quan Consulting-Trading-Service Real Estate Corp (HQC) jumped 3.6 per cent.

Leading companies in the plastic and steel industries were also up. Binh Minh Plastic JSC (BMP) and Hoa Sen Group (HSG) advanced 2.8 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively.

The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, however, declined 0.2 per cent to end at 80.52 points.

The stocks that fell on the northern bourse included An Phat Plastic and Green Environment JSC (AAA), Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) and PetroVietnam Coating Corp (PVB).

Both local exchanges traded more than 93 million shares worth VND1.5 trillion (US$66.7 million). — VNS