A worker collects latex at a rubber plantation in Gia Lai Province. Shares of Vietnam Rubber Group surged 2 per cent on Tuesday, supporting the market's rallies. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese stock market inched higher on Tuesday but gains were capped by losses in the big three banks. 

The VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) rose nearly 4 points, or 0.34 per cent, to close the day at 1,179.65 points. 

On the southern bourse, the market's breadth was positive as the number of gainers surpassed that of losers by 193 to 113. However, liquidity remained at low levels with the trading value being VNĐ13.7 trillion (US$562.8 million).

Ahead of the Tết (Lunar New Year), investors tend to withdraw capital from the market. Regardless, the market still maintained its upward momentum.

The 30 biggest stock tracker VN30-Index increased 2.54 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 1,181.71 points. Fourteen stocks in the VN30 basket advanced, while 12 ticker symbols declined and four stayed flat. 

The HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) also settled higher at 230.66 points, up 1.61 points, or 0.7 per cent. 

A value of nearly VNĐ 1.3 trillion of shares was traded on the northern bourse, equivalent to a trading volume of over 59.6 million shares. 

Leading the uptrend was Becamex. The property developer's shares soared more than 5.1 per cent on Tuesday. It was also the best performance among the VN30 stocks. 

Other pillars contributing to the rallies were Vietnam Rubber Group (GVR), HDBank (HDB), Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG), Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB) and Vinhomes (VHM). The stocks all were up at least 1.8 per cent. 

However, the market pared gains as shares of the big three banks faced strong sell-off. In particular, Vietcombank (VCB) lost 0.22 per cent, BIDV (BID) dropped 0.61 per cent and Vietinbank (CTG) was down 0.31 per cent. 

MBBank (MBB), Techcombank (TCB) and VPBank (VPB) also reported poor performances.

Meanwhile, foreign investors returned to the market today as they net bought VNĐ182.35 billion on the two main exchanges. Of which, they net bought over VNĐ128 billion on HoSE and VNĐ54.23 billion on HNX. — VNS