Oil ends markets’ losing streak

Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnamese shares rebounded from recent losing streaks on both local markets on April 21 as rising oil prices lifted energy stocks.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange rose 1.4 percent to close at 575.73 points, ending a two-day decline of more than 2 percent.

The HNX Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange bounced back 0.4 percent from a three-day slide of 1.1 percent to finish at 79.69 points.

The energy industry continued its upward trend as oil prices had the third gaining session after US production declined to its lowest point since October 2014 and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said it could hold new talks in May on an output freeze.

US crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) inched up 0.1 percent to trade at 44.22 USD a barrel and London-traded Brent crude rose slightly to trade at 45.82 USD a barrel.

US crude has advanced 11 percent in the last three sessions after OPEC’s talk in Doha broke down on April 17, while Brent crude has increased by 6.8 percent.

Among energy stocks, PetroVietnam Gas Corp (GAS) and PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Service Corp (PVD) surged 6.2 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively.

PetroVietnam Mud Drilling Corp (PVC) and PetroVietnam Technical Service Corp (PVS) jumped 4.5 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively.

The property sector also made good gains after official data from the Vietnam Real Estate Association (VNREA) showed that this sector has made significant improvements during the first quarter, Bao Viet Securities Corp (BVSC) wrote in its daily report.

The property market has seen a stable and firm recovery in the first quarter, BVSC said. The market’s growth in the first quarter is 3.4 percent – the strongest growth since 2012 – while real-estate stockpiles by March 20 fell 6.4 percent from the previous month to a value of 44.85 trillion VND.

Among property developers, Vingroup JSC (VIC), Saigon Thuong Tin Real Estate JSC (SCR), An Duong Thao Dien JSC (HAR) and Hoang Quan Consulting-Trading-Service Real Estate Corp (HQC) advanced between 1.8 percent and 2.2 percent.

Other companies with positive quarterly performance also helped boost the markets.

HCM City Securities Corp (HCM) gained 2 percent after it reported a net profit of 64.7 billion VND (2.87 million USD), an increase of 40 percent from last year’s figure.

Phu Nhuan Jewelry JSC (PNJ) increased by 1.9 percent after the jewelry trader reported a net profit of 120 billion VND in the first quarter of 2016, a growth of 9.2 percent from 2015’s first quarter.

Both local markets exchanged nearly 149 million shares worth nearly 2.2 trillion VND, a decrease of nearly 19 percent from April 20.-VNA