The 2026 FIFA World Cup will kick off on June 11 in North America. What impact will this event have on the stock market? And what opportunities are there for investors? The gloomy market The market often turns “red” under the weight of rising interest rates, currency pressures, or sudden geopolitical shocks—scenarios investors know all too well. Yet there is a recurring phenomenon that rarely receives attention: every time the World Cup kicks off, stock market liquidity tends to run dry. Every four years, as the world’s biggest football spectacle unfolds, global attention—including that of many traders—shifts toward the pitch. Historical data from the 2014, 2018, and 2022 tournaments reveals a consistent pattern: market liquidity declines by an average of 12% during the event, typically hitting its lowest point in the second week after the opening matches. Looking back over more than two decades of the Vietnamese stock market, the probability of the VN-Index declining during the FIFA World Cup or UEFA European Championship is strikingly high—around 70%. In fact, across the last six World Cups (2002–2022), the index fell on four occasions. The most severe impact came during the 2018 World Cup in Russia, when the VN-Index plunged 11%. […]