VN stocks end mixed; banks down
Vietnamese shares ended mixed yesterday as investors remained cautious ahead of the decision to be made by the US central bank on this year's interest rate.
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| Officials count bank notes at Vietcombank's Ha Noi branch. Vietcombank (VCB) finished 1 per cent lower yesterday. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet |
The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange struggled to rise 0.3 per cent, climbing a total 0.6 per cent in the last two trading days to 627.02 points.
The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange ended slightly down at 84.34 points from a gain of 0.1 per cent on Tuesday.
Viet Nam's markets declined along with global stock markets as investors remained worried before the US central bank concludes its meeting, although analysts have predicted that US interest rates will remain unchanged.
Additionally, the Chinese yuan fell to its lowest against the US dollar since January 2011 after the country's equities failed to be admitted into the Morgan Stanley Capital International's indexes.
Yesterday, Viet Nam's central bank raised its daily reference mid-point rate for local banks' exchange trading band by VND10 to VND21,887 for a US dollar to ensure that local products are competitive enough in world markets.
Investors' worries pulled banks and brokerage firms down. Among the banks, Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (STB) and Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Viet Nam (VCB) dropped 0.8 per cent and 1 per cent.
Among securities companies, Bao Viet Securities Corp (BVS) lost 0.8 per cent, Sai Gon-Ha Noi Securities Corp (SHS) declined by 1.5 per cent, and Sai Gon Securities Inc (SSI) slipped 1.4 per cent.
Additionally, the energy industry continued to slide as oil prices extended losses further. London-traded Brent crude decreased by 1.5 per cent to trade at US$49.07 a barrel, down 6.6 per cent in the last five days.
Petroleum Industrial and Civil Construction JSC (PXI), Petroleum Pipeline and Tank Construction JSC (PXT) and PetroVietnam Technical Services Corp (PVS) fell between 0.5 per cent and 1.7 per cent.
On the positive side, property developers and rubber producers helped drive markets up.
In the real estate business, Kinh Bac City Development Share Holding Corp (KBC) gained 1.4 per cent, Tan Tao Investment and Industry Corp (ITA) surged 6.8 per cent and Becamex Infrastructure Development JSC (IJC) added 2.3 per cent. — VNS
