$45 WTI oil was not sufficient to bolster equity markets. Instead, the VN-Index followed the cautious downward trend set by US and European markets ahead of the US Fed's upcoming meeting. The VN-Index slid 4.52 points, or 0.8%, to 593.96 on Wednesday, its second drop in the last three sessions. Trading opened higher and rose to above 601, but quickly lost momentum. Investors took profits in several of the shares that had led this month's rally, including VCB (-2.5%), VNM (-1.4%) and VIC (-1.8%).