Shares rebounded on Tuesday morning, driven by banks, on expectations that the government would allow banks to raise the limit of foreign ownership this year.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange rose 0.6 per cent to close at 681.66 points. The southern market index fell one per cent on Monday.

The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange added 0.7 per cent to end at 83.6 points. The northern market index lost 0.3 per cent in the first trading session of the week.

Bank shares made good gains this morning after the Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the government will consider allowing banks to raise their limit of foreign investment in capital this year in an attempt to restructure the banking system and increasing access to Viet Nam’s market for foreign investors.

The banking industry index on vietstock.vn rose 2.2 per cent, the strongest among 20 sectors on the stock market, after the PM's statement was published.

Of the nine listed banks, Vietcombank (VCB), Sacombank (STB), MBBank (MBB) and Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BID) increased by between 1.6 per cent and two per cent each.

Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) and Vietinbank (CTG) had the highest growth of 4.1 per cent and 4.5 per cent, respectively.

Market trading liquidity remained low as investors were waiting for a short break during the Tet holiday. More than 72.5 million shares were exchanged, worth nearly VND1.28 trillion (US$56.8 million). — VNS