VIETNAM, May 31 - HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese stock market inched higher on Tuesday, extending its rally for the second day in a row. However, gains were capped by strong net selling activities by foreign investors.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) rose 3.07 points, or 0.29 per cent, to close the day at 1,078.05 points. It climbed more than 11.2 points, the biggest intraday gain in two weeks, on Monday thanks to the investor's improving risk appetite.

Tuesday's rally helped push the index closer to the resistance level of 1,080 points, and may further test the zone of 1,085 - 1,090 points, according to ASEAN Securities Company.

Similarly, analysts from Yuanta Securities (Vietnam) Company said that the benchmark was likely to retest the resistance zone of 1,080 - 1,085 points, and the market would continue its uptrend.

The market's sentiment also improved after Monday's consumer price data showed that the country's inflation was under control in May. According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), the May CPI increased by 0.01 per cent over the previous month.

The breadth of the market was in positive territory, with 192 stocks up while 128 traded lower.

During the session, investors poured over VNĐ 16.4 trillion (US$699.2 million) into the southern market, equivalent to a trading volume of more than 922.9 million shares.

The 30 biggest stocks tracker VN30-Index also closed higher at 1,071.82 points, up 2.05 points, or 0.19 per cent. Thirteen ticker symbols of the VN30 basket climbed, while ten went down and seven ended flat.

Leading the market's bullish trend were the banking, manufacturing, and retail sectors. Specifically, Vietcombank (VCB) posted the greatest increase in market capitalisation, up 1.5 per cent, in the last trading minutes after hitting the session low earlier. VCB shares' strong rebound lifted the general market.

Also supporting the market's positive performance, Masan Group (MSN), Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG), FPT Corporation (FPT), and Đức Giang Chemicals Co (DGC) posted big gains. The stocks all soared at least 1.08 per cent.

However, selling activities in some stocks weighed on the market, limiting the rallies. Vinhomes (VHM) was the worst performer on Tuesday, with a loss of nearly 1.1 per cent. It was followed by PV Gas (GAS), Vinamilk (VNM), and Vingroup (VIC), down in a range of 0.57-0.96 per cent.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index logged a five-session rising streak. It closed the trading day at 221.33 points, up 1.02 points, or 0.46 per cent.

Big foreign capital outflows on Tuesday also pressured sentiment. Accordingly, foreign investors net sold VNĐ516.67 billion on HoSE and VNĐ11.73 billion on HNX. — VNS