VN shares mixed; oil stocks decline

Investors at the Sai Gon Securities Exchange. Vietnamese shares were mixed yesterday on the two local markets. - Photo Doan Tung

The VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange decreased by 0.2 per cent to close at 589.98 points, extending its losses for second day, while the HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange rose 0.1 per cent to finish at 80.74 points.

The energy sector fell 2.4 per cent as US benchmark crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped slightly to trade at US$46.64 a barrel at the end of yesterday's session.

Among energy stocks, Petrovietnam Gas Corporation (GAS) lost 1.1 per cent, PetroVietnam Drilling & Well Services (PVD) was down 0.3 per cent and PetroVietnam Drilling Mud Corporation (PVC) fell nearly 1 per cent.

The banking index fell 2.8 per cent as the Chinese government on Tuesday reported that its trade volume for September fell 1.1 per cent from a year ago while its import value decreased by 17.7 per cent.

The data raised a concern among investors about the possibility that China may depreciate its yuan to boost the economy, thus threatening Viet Nam's foreign exchange rates, Sai Gon Securities Corporation (SHS) wrote in a report.

SHS also reported that the exchange rate between the dong and the US dollar rose VND160 from the value last weekend and now stood between VND22,380 and VND22,460.

The brokerage said that such move in the foreign exchange rate made investors become more cautious with their actions during the last few days.

At the end of the day, the biggest banks such as Vietcombank (VCB) lost 1.5 per cent, the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID) fell 0.8 per cent, and Vietinbank (CTG) dropped nearly 1 per cent.

VCB yesterday also reported a pre-tax profit of VND4.52 trillion ($201.7million) after the first three quarters, an increase of 8.3 per cent year-on-year.

In addition, some large stocks on the market such as Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) and HDG Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Corporation (DHG) declined after the Government said it doesn't plan to sell stakes in these companies. BVH went down 4.2 per cent and DHG fell 1.5 per cent.

The two local exchanges yesterday traded more than 148 million shares and VND2.6 trillion ($116 million), an increase of 12.6 per cent.

FLC Group (FLC) remained the most active stock on the market for a third day with more than 8.4 million shares in trading. FLC remained flat at the end of the day.