HO CHI MINH CITY, March 7, 2026, 16:31 GMT+7
VN-Index dropped sharply this week, sliding 112.49 points—almost 6%—to 1,767.84 after Friday’s 2.25% decline. The index now stands well below last week’s close of 1,880.33.
The timing stings: Vietnam faces an FTSE Russell review in March or April, just months before its planned upgrade to secondary emerging-market status on September 21, 2026—a shift that could lure more global index funds. But that tailwind hasn’t materialized yet. Overseas investors yanked a record $5.1 billion from Vietnamese stocks through 2025, cutting further in early 2026. “Foreigners were cautious on Vietnam,” Matthews Asia CIO Sean Taylor told Reuters. Vingroup and its affiliates? They make up over 20% of the benchmark, according to Reuters. Reuters
Friday’s rout followed a spike in oil and a dip in global equities, as the Middle East war unsettled investors and pushed inflation anxieties back to the surface. VinaCapital’s Michael Kokalari and Thai Viet Trinh described the latest conflict as a “sharp but temporary” market shock—unless it escalates into a lasting supply crunch. For Vietnam, the risk lingers: as a net energy importer, the country’s bill tops 1% of GDP. Reuters
Large caps weighed heavily on the market Friday. According to Shinhan Securities, foreign investors dumped a net 1.306 trillion dong on HoSE, singling out FPT, SSI, and VIC as top net-sold stocks. Vietnam News flagged Techcombank, BIDV, VietinBank, along with brokerages, as key sources of pressure on the benchmark.
That selling wasn’t confined to HoSE—though losses ran deeper on the southern exchange. HNX-Index settled at 253.64, dropping 1.53%, while UPCoM-Index slipped 0.82% to 126.85.
Vo Diep Thanh Thoai, who leads private client services at DNSE Securities, noted that during times of geopolitical turbulence, funds often flow to safer assets—“particularly gold”—before heading back to markets showing solid macro fundamentals and lower valuations. He pointed out Vietnam’s valuations are still attractive compared to the region, and with corporate earnings outlooks staying upbeat, capital could continue to find its way in over time. The Investor
The big concern: if oil stays expensive, the ripple goes beyond sentiment. Rising prices could feed inflation, knock the currency, and lift borrowing costs, setting the stage for a deeper correction. Maybank Securities Vietnam, quoted by Dien Dan Doanh Nghiep, noted that once oil tops $85 a barrel, it’s enough to make central banks rethink their policy outlook, putting Vietnam’s exchange rate and interest rates under sustained pressure.
The market’s downturn looks out of place next to solid economic data. In the first two months of 2026, Vietnam’s realized foreign direct investment jumped 8.8% from a year earlier, reaching $3.21 billion—a five-year high. That number points to underlying economic strength, even if HoSE trading painted a different picture this week.
