Asian market Review 2007

In the last trading day of 2007, the US markets tumbled yet again with Dow losing 101.05 pts or 0.76%, Nasdaq fell 22.18 pts or 0.83% and S&P500 fell 10.13 pts or 0.69%. The uncertainties in the US economy and the ever faltering housing markets are the main reasons for these downfall and turbulence in the late 2007 for Wall St. 2007 was a remarkable year for Wall St, with high volatilities in the markets due to the subprime problems. The market began the year continuing the rally that had pushed the Dow above 12,000 for the first time in October. Then, in late February, China sparked a global selloff and Dow plunged 400ish pts in 1 day. The panic didn't last long as Dow quickly regained grounds and went past 13,000 by April and even past 14,000 in mid-July. When the ongoing housing problems didn't stop and a rise in mortgage foreclosures due to resetting adjustable-rate loans was taking a toll across the credit market, the so-called "subprime" problems began to gnaw at the financial markets globally. The high volatility rate made investors worried and it became really hard to make any investment decisions. These problems cut the Dow advance from over 13% in October and it fell from its Oct 9th record close of 14,164.53 to make the yearly advance of only 6.43%. Nasdaq also fell from its highs and finish the year with a 9.81% gain at 2,652.28. S&P500 finished the year at 1,468.36 or a gain of 3.53% which is way below its record close on Oct 9th at 1,565.15.

Asian markets this year has been one of the best region performers globally with Kospi, Hangseng and China markets being the market leaders. Asian stocks gained for fifth year running overall, amid speculations that the Fed will cut rates further next year.

Nikkei index started 2007 at 17353.67 following the gains at the end of last year. It reached its highest at 18215.35 on Feb 26th before it tumbled along with global stock markets after China big one day selloff to get to its low at 16642.25 on March 5th. This didn't last long as Nikkei rebounded back up and touched its new highest peak at 18240.30 on June 21st. However, these gains also didn't last very long as the US subprime problems affected the stock markets globally and made Nikkei lose quite a lot of ground and touched its year low of 14837.66 on Nov 21st. Nikkei ended the year at 15307.78, which is lower than the price at the start of the year, making Nikkei the only market to actually in loss due to the high volatility in the markets caused by the US subprime problems. Nikkei's yearly range was: 14669.80-18300.40

Kospi index started the year at 1438.89 following the gains at the end of last year or with the futures we're playing its at around 180ish. It kept rising and reached its peak at 1470.03 also on Feb 26th before it tumbled along with other markets following China selloff to get to its low at 1376.15 on March 5th. It didn't last long as Kospi was one of the best performers in 2007. It kept on rising and it reached its year high on Oct 31st when it closed at 2085.45 or 263ish for the Kospi futures we're playing. It then retraces back down a bit caused by US problems and fear of recession and closed the year at 1897.13 or 241.90 for the Kospi futures. Kospi yearly range was: 1345.08-2085.45 or for the futures it was from 180ish-263ish.

Hangseng index started the year at 20004.84 following the gains from last year. It was a rollercoaster ride for Hangseng though with high volatility rate in 2007 with many 1000+ moves across the year. It kept on rising and touched 20000 level for the 1st time on 27th Feb when it closed at 20147.87. It tumbled along with other markets after China selloff and was at its lowest on March 5th when it closed at 18664.88. It then rebounded up and kept on breaking highs to reached its peak at 31958.40 for the very first time ever on Oct 30th making Hangseng the 2nd best performer market in the region besides China. US subprime problems made Hangseng a very volatile market in 2007 with 1000+ pts gains or losses during daily trading period. Towards the end of the year, Hangseng traced back down and closed the year at 27812.65 or 27905 for the Hangseng futures. Hangseng yearly range was: 18659.20-31958.40 or for the futures was at: 18000ish-32000ish.