VN-Index loses 9 points as Fed announces interest rate hike

Vietnam’s benchmark VN-Index went down 8.51 points, or 0.81%, to close at 1,040.61 on Thursday as investors exercised caution over the impact of the U.S Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate hike.

The U.S. central bank on Wednesday raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to the 5.00%-5.25% range, the highest level since 2007. It is the 10th straight interest-rate hike since last March.

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), represented by the index, saw up to 247 losers and 143 gainers, with nearly 626 million shares changing hands for nearly VND10.5 trillion ($447.8 million).

Blue chips were the main force dragging down the VN-Index as their VN30 index plunged 11.79 points to 1,039.64, with up to 21 tickers declining. VCB of Vietcombank, down 2.2%, had the most negative impact on the market.

Banking stocks were in red, with a series of codes with high liquidity falling 0.6-1.8%. Among those were STB of Sacombank, VPB of VPBank, SHB of Saigon-Hanoi Bank, and MBB of MBBank.

Meanwhile, the securities group showed the best performance, with APS of Asia-Pacific Securities, AGR of Agribank Securities, and VIX of VIX Securities hitting their ceiling prices.

Divergence was seen in real estate, manufacturing, aviation and retail groups.

Foreign investors turned net sellers on the HoSE to the tune of over VND300 billion ($12.8 million). They mainly net sold VNM of Vinamilk, CTG of VietinBank, and STB.

The HNX-Index on the Hanoi bourse went up 0.67 points to 208.15, while the UpCOM-Index on the unlisted public company market dropped 0.5 points to 77.27.