Shares up on good earnings reports

Shares advanced on both local exchanges on January 24, driven by bank and energy stocks as investor confidence was positive for companies releasing good earnings reports.
Shares up on good earnings reports ảnh 1Illustrative image (Source: VNA)
   
Hanoi (VNA) - Shares advanced on both local exchanges on January 24, driven by bank and energy stocks as investor confidence was positive for companies releasing good earnings reports.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange added 0.6 percent to close at 691.36 points. The southern market index has increased by total 1.3 percent in the last three sessions.

The HNX Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange gained 0.9 percent to end at 83.74 percent. The northern market index bounced back from a fall of 0.3 percent on Monday.

Banks and energy firms had the strongest impact on the market yesterday.

Bank stocks continued to improve on expectations that more local banks will be traded on the stock market, the restructuring of the banking system will help the sector meet international standards and the Government will soon reduce its ownership in local banks, cafef.vn reported.

Seven of the nine listed banks advanced on January 24. Sacombank (STB) jumped 3.1 percent and Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) rose 2.6 percent, the best growth rates among bank stocks, while others such as Vietcombank (VCB) and Military Bank (MBB) were up between 0.9 percent and 2.2 percent.

Energy stocks also performed well as oil prices remained positive during the Asia trading session. US crude was being traded at 52.96 USD a barrel, up 0.4 percent from January 23 and 3.7 percent from January 18.

Oil prices are expected to increase this year to over 60 USD a barrel and that could help boost the performance of energy firms in Vietnam.

In the energy sector, PetroVietnam Gas Corp (GAS) rose 2.6 percent, PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corp (PVD) jumped 3.5 percent and PetroVietnam Mud Drilling Corp (PVC) was up 1.2 percent.

In addition, investor confidence was also bolstered by positive earnings reports released by some of the listed firms such as Coteccons Construction JSC (CTD) and Digiworld Corporation (DGW).

Coteccons in 2016 recorded a post-tax profit of 1.42 trillion VND, nearly double 2015’s number. Digiworld Corp saw a post-tax profit of 65 billion VND, a yearly increase of 7 percent.

Market trading liquidity remained modest from the previous sessions ahead of Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday as investors held on to their cash and were unwilling to make further investments to avoid risks. Nearly 114.6 million shares were traded worth nearly 2.1 trillion VND.-VNA
VNA

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