HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese shares were mixed yesterday while investors became more confident in property companies on expectations of higher second-quarter performances.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange climbed 0.3 per cent to finish at 632.26 points, extending its rally of 1.9 per cent for a fourth day.

The HNX Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange closed down slightly at 84.72 points, ending a two-day gain of 1.4 per cent.

Property firms and medical services providers were the stocks that recorded highest growth yesterday.

Investor confidence in real estate companies was bolstered after CBRE Việt Nam, a branch of the US-based real estate service and investment firm, said in its second-quarter reviews for Hà Nội and HCM City markets that both biggest markets in the country are performing well with higher sales compared to the first quarter of the year.

The reviews, released on June 28 and 29 respectively for the two largest cities, indicate that about 4,860 apartments were sold between April and June, a quarterly increase of 20 per cent. This has brought total apartment sales in the first half of the year to 8,900 units.

Among listed real estate firms that made good gains yesterday, Vingroup JSC (VIC) rose 2.9 per cent, Sài Gòn Thương Tín Real Estate JSC (SCR) gained 2.1 per cent, and An Dương Thảo Điền Real Estate Trading Investment JSC (HAR) went up 1.9 per cent.

Medical equipment and service providers continued their rallies. Traphaco JSC (TRA) added 1.8 per cent to climb 2.7 per cent in the last two sessions, and DHG Pharmaceutical JSC (DHG) jumped 4.6 per cent to surge 13.8 per cent in the last three trading days.

On the opposite side, energy stocks prevented markets from going higher as crude prices retreated from a two-day gain. London-traded Brent crude fell 0.9 per cent to trade at US$50.17 a barrel after jumping 7.3 per cent in the previous two trading days.

Among listed energy firms, PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Service Corp (PVD) and PetroVietnam Coating Corp (PVB) lost 1 per cent each, and PetroVietnam Technical Service Corp (PVS) edged down 0.5 per cent.

Việt Nam’s central bank yesterday reduced its daily reference mid-point rate by VNĐ9 to VNĐ21,873 for a US dollar. Local banks were able to trade the Vietnamese đồng and the dollar within a trading band of 3 per cent on either side of the mid-point rate.

Investors on both local exchanges traded more than 167 million shares worth nearly VNĐ3 trillion ($132.9 million). — VNS