Higher Q2 earnings push banks up

Vietcombank staff serve a client in a southern Khánh Hòa branch. Vietcombank profits rose  三 七. 八 per cent year on year in Q 二. — VNA/VNS Photo Trần Việt

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese shares yesterday rebounded from a two-day decline as banks advanced on second-quarter profits and higher oil prices pushed energy stocks up.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange rose  一 per cent to finish at  六 五 八. 九0 points. The southern market index lost  一. 四 per cent during the previous two days.

The HNX Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange closed at  八 六. 三 九 points, up 0. 四 per cent from Monday. The northern market index dropped  二. 四 per cent in the previous two sessions.

The banking sector was lifted by the Joint Stock Co妹妹ercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Việt Nam (Vietcombank) and Việt Nam Joint Stock Co妹妹ercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank), which have recently reported year-on-year increases in their profits for the past quarter.

Vietcombank (VCB) last Friday reported that the bank’s profit in the second quarter rose  三 七. 八 per cent year on year and Vietinbank (CTG) on Monday said that its second-quarter profit could rise  一0. 三 per cent from last year’s figure.

VCB and CTG yesterday ended up  三. 八 per cent and  一. 七 per cent, respectively. VCB has surged  八 per cent in the last four days, and CTG has gained  二. 九 per cent in the past two sessions.

Energy stocks recovered from Monday’s falls on a rebound in oil prices. London-traded Brent crude added  二. 四 per cent to trade at US$ 四 七. 三 八 a barrel and US crude advanced  二. 一 per cent to trade at $ 四 五. 六 八 a barrel.

Among local energy stocks, PetroVietnam Gas Corp (GAS) edged up 0. 八 per cent, PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Service Corp (PVD) increased by  二. 四 per cent, and PetroVietnam Technical Service Corp (PVS) rose  一. 七 per cent.

Other blue chips also made gains yesterday, including Sài Gòn Securities Inc (SSI) and Việt Nam Dairy Products JSC (VNM).

SSI finished up  一. 七 per cent as the company remained top dealer on the national stock market. SSI has soared  一 三. 六 per cent in the last seven trading days.

VNM rose 0. 七 per cent after the State Capital Investment Corp (SCIC) announced it would sell its entire stake in the dairy producer.

Other large-cap stocks such as property developer Vingroup JSC (VIC), steel producer Hòa Phát Group (HPG) and Việt Nam Construction and Import-Export Corp (VCG) also made gains.

Investors yesterday traded nearly  二 三 五. 五 million shares worth of VNĐ 四 trillion ($ 一 七 九. 八 七 million), a decrease of  五. 三 per cent from Monday’s trading value. — VNS