HÀ NỘI – Vietnamese shares were mixed on the two local bourses yesterday while the southern market rallied for a sixth day.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange inched up 0.1 per cent to close at 579.84 points, adding 4.3 per cent during the last six sessions.

Property developer Vingroup JSC (VIC) continued to drive the southern market up for a second day after the company introduced a new project located in the northern province of Yên Bái.

VIC jumped 3 per cent at the end of yesterday’s session to VNĐ52,000 (US$2.33) per share, the stock’s highest value ever seen. The stock surged 10 per cent over the last three days.

PetroVietnam Gas Corp (GAS), and PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Service Corp (PVD) also lifted the southern market after global oil prices rebounded from Monday’s fall to maintain their recovery.

US crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 1 per cent to trade at $40.77 a barrel and London-traded Brent crude was up 1.3 per cent to trade at $43.39 a barrel.

WTI moved up more than 14 per cent in the last seven sessions and Brent crude rose 15 per cent.

GAS advanced 1.1 per cent and PVD rose 1.6 per cent. GAS rallied 12.6 per cent in the past six days and PVD gained 8.9 per cent.

The southern bourse also received support from companies with good business news, such as An Pha Petrol JSC (ASP) and Đồng Phú Rubber JSC (DPR).

ASP jumped 4.9 per cent following a statement last Saturday that the company will allow foreign investors to raise ownership, while PDR surged 5.7 per cent after the rubber producer said it would increase the dividends for shareholders regarding good business performances in 2015 and 2016.

However, the southern market was prevented from making higher gains after food producer Masan Group (MSN), the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID) and Vietinbank (CTG) all saw declines.

Meanwhile, the HNX Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange pulled back 0.2 per cent from a six-day increase of 2.8 per cent to finish at 80.54 points.

Brokerage firms weighed on the northern market, led by Kim Long Securities Corp (KLS) and Bảo Việt Securities Corp (BVS).

KLS dropped 2.2 per cent after the stock rocketed nearly 23 per cent in the previous six sessions. BVS fell 0.7 per cent after a two-day increase of 6.2 per cent.

The local bourses traded more than 218.6 million shares worth VNĐ3.9 trillion ($174.5 million), 16.6 per cent higher than Monday’s trading value. – VNS