HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese shares were mixed yesterday while blue chips pulled the benchmark VN Index down after a five-day rally.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange edged down 0.2 per cent to finish at 621.88 points, ending a five-day rally of 3.1 per cent.

On the contrary, the HNX Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange maintained good form, ending 0.3 per cent up at 82.66 points. The northern market index has climbed 2 per cent in the last six sessions.

“The market’s negative trend yesterday came after investors tried to lock in profits in large-cap stocks,” Bảo Việt Securities Corp (BVSC) wrote in its daily report.

Investors were still worried about whether the US central bank would increase its interest rates for the first time since December after upbeat economic data bolstered the US economy’s recovery.

Concerns over an interest rate hike have boosted the value of the US dollar against other currencies, including the Vietnamese đồng.

Yesterday, the daily reference mid-point rate for the exchange trading band set by Việt Nam’s central bank closed at VNĐ21,939 for a dollar, down VNĐ7 from this year’s highest rate of VNĐ21,946 on Wednesday.

Banks that lost out included Vietinbank (CTG), the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID), Eximbank (EIB) and Military Bank (MBB), which dropped between 0.6 per cent and 2.4 per cent.

Among insurance companies, Bảo Việt Holdings (BVH), Bảo Minh Insurance Corp (BMI) and PVI Holdings (PVI) were down 0.8 per cent, 0.4 per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively.

The largest brokerage firms also declined. Sài Gòn Securities Inc (SSI), HCM City Securities Corp (HCM), VNDirect Securities Corp (VND) and Kim Long Securities Corp (KLS) fell between 0.3 per cent and 0.9 per cent.

On a positive note, energy stocks helped lift both local exchanges as oil prices held near US$50 a barrel after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) saw the market rebalance and US output declined.

PetroVietnam Mud Drilling Corp (PVC), PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Service Corp (PVD) and PetroVietnam Technical Service Corp (PVS) rose between 1.1 per cent and 2.8 per cent.

Property developer and retailer Vingroup JSC (VIC) edged up 0.9 per cent to improve market conditions after announcing an additional VNĐ250 billion ($11 million) to its first-quarter after-tax profit after the company completed revising its financial report.

Both local markets traded more than 184.5 million shares worth VNĐ2.75 trillion, an increase of 7.8 per cent from Thursday’s trading value. — VNS