HANOI: Vietnam's VN Index closed down 0.11 percent on Tuesday against a rise in regional sharemarkets as foreigners continued selling and local investors traded cautiously, analysts said.

Commercial banks led the fall with Vietcombank plunging 4 percent, Eximbank dropping 1.4 percent and Vietinbank down 1 percent. Real estate firms also lost, with Hoang Anh Gia Lai down 1 percent and VinGroup 0.8 percent.

Investors were trading cautiously, awaiting clarity on whether the United States would take military action in troubled Syria before making trading decisions, said Doan Thi Anh Nguyet, an analyst at Saigon-Hanoi Securities.

Trading volume was 29 million shares, below the five-day average of 36.9 million shares, according to Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange data.