Market dips on risk-off sentiment following Fed's decision

Market dips on risk-off sentiment following Fed's decision

Gains in real estate stocks helped cushion the market's losses.

A Novaland building in HCM City. Shares of the property developer logged the maximum daily gain of 7 per cent, leading the uptrend and helping cushion the market's downturn. — Photo novaland.com.vn

The Vietnamese stock market fell on Thursday as global markets reacted negatively to the US Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates steady, triggering risk‑off sentiment that weighed on domestic indices.

On the Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index closed down 14.70 points, or 0.86 per cent, at 1,699.13 points. The benchmark even dropped more than 33 points to the 1,680 area earlier in the session. 

The southern market recorded 229 stocks declining, while only 95 increased. Liquidity also decreased from the previous session to VNĐ24.4 trillion (US$928 million).

Meanwhile, the 30 biggest stocks tracker VN30-Index also fell 14.56 points, or 0.78 per cent, to 1,854.19 points. In the VN30 basket, the number of decliners was 22, more than triple the number of gainers. 

Similarly, the HNX‑Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) finished at 245.73, down 2.05 points or 0.83 per cent.

On March 18, the Fed maintained its policy rate at 3.50-3.75 per cent and signalled that inflation risks remain elevated, the labour market should stay stable and markets should expect only a 25‑basis‑point rate cut later in the year. 

Those projections, coupled with escalating geopolitical conflict in the Middle East that pushed oil prices higher, fuelled a broad sell-off across major markets.

After the announcement, US benchmarks closed lower, with the S&P 500 falling 1.36 per cent to 6,624.70, the Nasdaq losing 1.46 per cent and the Dow dropping 1.63 per cent. 

Asian markets also weakened. South Korea's Kospi index slid 2.73 per cent, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 3.38 per cent and Hong Kong (China)'s Hang Seng index declined 1.87 per cent.

Sector performance on the local market reflected global pressures. 

Energy was the hardest hit, reversing earlier gains to fall 3.72 per cent as heavy supply pressure weighed on the group. 

Major energy names, including PetroVietnam Transportation Corporation (PVT), Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical (BSR), PV Gas (GAS), PV Drilling (PVD), PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS) and Petrolimex (PLX), all retreated. 

In contrast, real estate stood out as a relative support amid the sell-off. Although heavyweight developers like Vingroup (VIC) and Vincom Retail (VRE) pulled back, several property names held gains, such as Novaland (NVL), which closed at its ceiling price. 

Phat Dat Real Estate Development Corporation (PDR), CEO Group (CEO), DIC Group (DIG), Dat Xanh Group (DXG) and Nam Long Investment Corporation (NLG) also finished higher, helping to mitigate the market's decline.

Foreign investors continued to sell, extending net outflows on HoSE to over VNĐ981.5 billion for the session.

Bizhub