The information that the US imposed a passed tax of up to 46% on goods from Vietnam exceeding all forecasts caused the stock market in the trading session on January 3 to plummet from the beginning of the session.
The sell-off momentum and the wave of "margin calls" taking place widely caused the market to stir. At the end of today's trading session, the VN-Index decreased by nearly 88 points, equivalent to 6.68%, to 1,229.84 points.
This is the strongest decline in market history, bringing the index closer to the bottom of 2025. Cautization of the entire market also "evaporated" more than VND500,000 billion, to about VND6.8 million billion.
The bottom-fishing efforts of the group of venture investors caused market liquidity to skyrocket with trading volume reaching more than 1.76 billion shares matched on the HOSE, equivalent to a value of nearly 39.6 trillion VND.
In a sell-off session at all costs, even the most calm analysis cannot help investors regain their spirit. The market picture was in the green and red when 517 out of 530 stocks on the HOSE floor all decreased in price, of which 263 stocks touched the floor's decrease; only 13 stocks maintained their upward momentum and 8 stocks stood at the price.
Meanwhile, foreign transactions also became a ngoai point when they net sold up to VND3,721 billion, setting a record for net selling value in the history of the Vietnamese stock market (eliminating collusion).
The negative trading session of Vietnamese stocks took place after US President Donald Trump announced the imposition of counterpart tariffs of up to 46% on Vietnam. Not only are domestic investors surprised, even the most cautious analysts could not foresee this move.
Assessing the impact of this tariff policy on Vietnam, Mr. Pham Luu Hung - Chief Economist and Director of SSI Research said that if we only look at the published figures, this tax policy will not only affect Vietnam or the 60 countries on the list but also affect the whole world.
Mr. Hung also said that the valuation of the Vietnamese market is currently only half that of the time of the first trade war in 2018 when the P/E VN-Index was at 23-24. Therefore, the pressure to sell is not too strong. However, Vietnamese stocks are still a market for individual investors with a trading rate of over 90% and psychological factors have a great influence.
The short-term impact is there, but negotiations between the two countries will lead to a tax rate applied to Vietnam that will not be 46% but will be lower, possibly even just 10%. At that time, the impact of this tariff policy on Vietnam will be low. Even, like any other trade war, Vietnam can finally benefit, said SSI Chief Economist.
