Employees talk to clients at a transaction office of Vietcombank. The bank's shares soared 3.5 per cent on Tuesday, helping lift the market sentiment. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Stocks were divergent on Tuesday but benchmark indices still inched higher, lifted by large-cap stocks, especially in the banking industry. Meanwhile, foreign investors continued to net sell on the southern exchange. 

The VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) extended its recent rally to the third day in a row. It closes the trading day at 1,195.9 points, an increase of 5.18 per cent, or 0.44 points. 

The market's breadth, however, entered negative territory as there were 188 stocks declining, while 132 stocks finished higher. 

Liquidity on HoSE was stable as it hovered around VNĐ20 trillion. Investors poured in more than VNĐ20.1 trillion (US$851 million), equal to a trading volume of more than one billion shares. 

The 30 biggest stocks in the VN30-Index also edged higher to 1,198.01 points, a gain of 4.87 points, or 0.41 per cent. In the VN30 basket, 14 stocks climbed while 11 slid and five remained unchanged. 

"The market's uptrend has formed quite reliably. Movements in the market have been influenced by consecutive short-term uptrends and correction waves. And we think momentum will remain to help the VN-Index head towards the area of 1,300 points," analysts from Saigon- Hanoi Securities JSC (SHS) said in a note.

In the short term, the benchmark index is likely to see corrections during the bullish trend. As a result, short-term investors should be cautious in disbursing their portfolio, SHS recommends. 

The rally today was driven by large-cap stocks in the banking, manufacturing and real estate sectors. Of these, Vietcombank was the biggest gainer, leading the market's uptrend. The bank's shares surged by 3.5 per cent. It was followed by Techcombank (TCB), up 3.24 per cent. 

Other stocks helping to lift sentiment were Sabeco (SAB), up 1.94 per cent, Vinamilk (VNM) rose 1.22 per cent, BIDV (BID) up 0.75 per cent, Vincom Retail (VRE) jumped 2.11 per cent, and Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) increased 1.13 per cent. 

Gains were capped by stronger selling pressure in some pillar stocks, led by Vinhomes (VHM) down 0.85 per cent. 

The HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) also finished Tuesday higher at 236.93 points, a rise of 0.4 points, or 0.17 per cent. This is its ninth consecutive gaining session. 

During the session, more than 133.4 million shares were traded on HNX, worth over VNĐ1.86 trillion.

While foreign investors continued to run away from the southern exchange after net selling VNĐ11.1 billion, they net bought VNĐ78.84 billion on HNX. — VNS