Asian market preview 31/01/2008

US markets fell overnight, giving up a nice 200 pts rally following the Fed's rate cut by 0.5%. Investors decided to cash in after 3 sessions of strong gains, unwilling to leave money on the table amid ongoing economic uncertainty. The economy grew at 0.6% in Q4, lower than the economists' estimate of 1.2% grow. More downgrades for financial institutions and also more economic reports to come on Thursday and Friday was enough to make people take profits. Dow lost 37.47 pts or 0.3% to 12442.83 after rising as much as 200 pts. S&P500 fell 6.49 pts or 0.48% to 1355.81 and Nasdaq fell 9.06 pts or 0.38% to 2349.00. Job market and manufacturing reports set to arrive on Friday, which could also add to investors' concern.
Asian market may open slightly lower at the start, following the lower close in Wall St overnight. However, with the Fed's rate cut in place, Asian markets may not go much lower and may also gain after losing a lot of ground yesterday. Crude oil traded at $91.70ish per barrel, gold at $927ish and JPY fell to 106ish. Nikkei futures closed at 13400 in CME, lower than the close of 13450 in Singapore and little change from the close of 13395 in Osaka.
Kospi may open slightly lower again today after the US closed lower overnight and also with so many uncertainties clouding the market these days. But during the trading session, there may also be a chance of a slight rebound up following the Fed's rate cut. Volatility will be the main key again here today for day traders and I think there will be many chances to take position today.
Hangseng may start with little change today and should the investors think positive with the Fed's rate decision, we may see some market rally today following the steep loss yesterday. Volatility in the market may be high again and we could capitalize on this.