A gas store of the PetroVietnam Gas Corporation. The energy sector index yesterday jumped 3.1 per cent as global crude prices made big gains to rebound from twelve-year lows touched on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Ha Thai

HA NOI  (VNS) — Vietnamese shares rebounded yesterday, led by energy stocks as global oil prices recovered from twelve-year lows.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange inched up 0.1 per cent to close at 522.24 points. The southern index had declined by 7.5 per cent over the previous seven sessions.

The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange gained 1.1 per cent to finish at 73.85 points. The northern index had fallen 4.7 per cent during the previous six days.

The energy sector index yesterday jumped 3.1 per cent as global crude prices made big gains to rebound from twelve-year lows touched on Wednesday.

US benchmark crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) jumped 4 per cent to trade at US$30.72 a barrel and London-traded Brent crude surged 5.2 per cent to trade at $30.77 a barrel.

WTI crude price had fallen over 28 per cent since the end of last year to hit a twelve-year low of $26.55 a barrel and Brent crude had dropped a quarter to $27.88 a barrel.

Local energy stocks that made gains included PetroVietnam Gas Corporation (GAS), which surged 6.7 per cent, PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corporation (PVD), which gained 6.6 per cent, and PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS), which rallied 6.4 per cent.

The brokerage sector also helped raise the markets as leading brokerage firms such as Saigon Securities Incorporate (SSI), HCM Securities Corporation (HCM) and VNDirect Securities Corporation (VND) reported profits in 2015. These stocks gained 3.2 per cent, 2.3 per cent and 5.9 per cent, respectively.

On the opposite side, large-cap stocks such as dairy firm Vinamilk (VNM), food and beverage producer Masan Group (MSN), Vietinbank (CTG), and the Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BID) extended losses.

These stocks lost 1.7 per cent, 0.7 per cent, 1.8 per cent and 5.1 per cent, respectively.

Yesterday, Viet Nam's central bank lowered the reference mid-point rate for its exchange rate trading band by VND2 to VND21,908 for a US dollar, which allows banks to decide the dollar exchange rate with a margin of three per cent on either side of the reference rate.

Military Bank Securities Company (MBS) wrote in a report that yesterday's market gains signaled that both indices may have reach a short-term bottom after the long recent drop.

Both local markets traded more than 217 million shares worth VND2.46 trillion ($112 million), nearly equal to last year's daily trading value of $111 million and an increase of 6.5 per cent from Thursday's trading value. — VNS