1- Market information
In a speech in Washington on April 6, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva forecast that the world economy will grow about 3% in the next half decade, due to rising interest rates. This is the lowest medium-term forecast since 1990, and is 3.8% below the five-year average over the past two decades. According to the IMF, about 90% of advanced economies will see growth slow this year as tightening monetary policy weighs on demand and economic activity in the US and the European region.
In March 2023, the State Bank introduced two cuts in operating interest rates, whereby the rediscount interest rate decreased by 1 percentage point to 3.5%/year; The refinancing interest rate decreased by 0.5 percentage points to 5.5%, the overnight lending interest rate of the State Bank for credit institutions also decreased from 7% to 6%/year. In the recently released financial and monetary market report, VnDirect Securities expects the average 12-month deposit interest rate to decrease to 7.0% by the end of 2023.
2- Gold market
Last week, gold prices surpassed the important milestone of 2,000 USD/ounce, when oil prices soared after the announcement of shocking production cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies. Closing the weekend trading session, world gold price stood at 2,007 USD/ounce, up 40 USD compared to last week. Domestically, gold prices fluctuate in opposite directions. Currently, the buying/selling price of SJC gold bars is at 66.40 – 67.10 million VND/tael.
3- Stock fund certificates
The stock market had a positive trading week. For the whole week, VN-Index increased slightly by 5.07 points (0.49%) points, to 1,069.71 points. Open-ended stock funds still maintain performance compared to the market, the risk level of the portfolio is always maintained lower than the general market. In there, BVFED stock fund certificates are having the best performance last week with an increase of 3.52% compared to the previous week.
4- Bond fund certificates
In the past week, bond funds have maintained stable profits with positive rates of return. Among them, VCBF-FIF bond fund certificates are having the best performance with an increase of 0.35%.