On February 1, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) announced an increase in reference interest rates by 25 basis points (0.25%), exactly as expected by the market. Reference interest rates in the US are currently around 4.5-4.75%. This is the highest level since October 2007.
Next, on February 2, the Bank of England (BoE) decided to increase interest rates by 0.5 percentage points to 4%. This is the 10th consecutive increase, but the BoE also clarified that interest rates have nearly reached their peak and this may be the last increase in this increase.
Manufacturing activities in many Asian countries declined in January despite China reopening. According to a survey by Caixin/S&P Global, the purchasing managers index (PMI) in China in January 2023 increased to 49.2, while in Japan and Korea it was 48.9 and 48 respectively. ,5. These numbers are all below 50, showing that manufacturers continue to face difficulties because of low global demand.
World gold in the last trading session of last week still could not break through the optimistic figures on the job market recently announced by the US Department of Labor. Closing the weekend session, world gold prices are trading around 1,865 USD/ounce, down 63 USD compared to last week. Domestically, gold prices also dropped sharply after the day of the God of Wealth. Specifically, SJC gold price at the end of the week was listed at 66.4 – 67.42 million VND/tael (buy – sell), down 600 thousand VND/tael, equivalent to 0.9% in value.
The stock market struggled in the last session of the week, VN-Index fell to 1,077.15 points, down 39.95 points (-3.58%) compared to last week. 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, SSISCA stock fund certificates are having the best performance over the past week with an increase of 9.27%.
In the past week, bond funds have maintained stable profits with positive rates of return. Among them, PVBF bond fund certificates are having the best performance with an increase of 1.2%.