Vietnam's benchmark stock index topped 1,300 points at the close on Wednesday, its highest level in more than two years, as other Asian equity markets were mixed ahead of a decision by the Federal Reserve on interest rates.

Vietnam's main index, which has a market capitalisation of around $205 billion, has risen nearly 15% this year, outshining its regional peers.

".VNI is expected to hit strong resistance level at 1,310 - 1,315 points," said a broker at VNDirect Securities.

"The benchmark index had failed to reach the 1,300 mark multiple times in the past two years. Investor sentiment now has been upbeat as the market has crushed a big obstacle."

However, overseas investors continued to offload investments in Vietnam's main bourse, the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, with a net 588 billion dong ($23.11 million) on Wednesday, official data showed.

Reuters reported that foreign investors had reduced their securities holdings by nearly $2 billion since early 2023 despite the bourse's positive performance, with the largest outflows recorded during weeks of political upheaval.

The Vietnam index lost a third of its value in 2022 as a crackdown on property lending hammered confidence in a market dominated by banks and real estate firms.

It rose 12% in 2023 and lenders have been the main drivers of gains as profits surge and investors bet the worst is over.

($1 = 25,440.0000 dong) (Reporting by Phuong Nguyen Editing by Bernadette Baum)