Asian market preview 03/04/2008

The US markets took a breather overnight after oil and gasoline prices spiked up and also after Bernanke congressional testimony saying that recession may be underway as housing slumped and consumer spending weaken. Investors are concern about the recession news and always pay close attention to the data and news regarding it. However, Bernanke's testimonial was expected by most investors and analysts after they have gone through a bad quarter in Q1. Higher energy prices sparked concerns that consumers may be under stress again in a recession showing economy and after Bernanke said that he expects the economy to contract in the first half. The Dow slipped 48.53 pts or 0.38% to 12605.83, S&P500 fell 2.65 or 0.19% to 1367.53. Nasdaq fell 1.35 pts or 0.06% to 2361.40. It is normal for markets to fall slightly and take a breather after gaining so much the day before.

Asian markets may open flat with an upward bias today following the slight decline on Wall St overnight. Markets may also follow Wall St to fall slightly later on as Asian markets have gone up quite a lot the past week. Crude oil and gold price may cause some strength for the energy and commodity shares today. Oil was recently traded around $104.68 per barrel, gold traded around $902.70ish and JPY traded around 102.30ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13305 in CME overnight compared to the close of 13260 here yesterday.

The Kospi may open slightly higher today at around 226.50ish and may continue on higher if there are no bad news to come out of the country regarding earnings and other stuff. Volatility may be high as investors may start to lock in profit too after the market rally quite a lot the past week.

Hangseng may open around 23900ish today and may continue on the rally for the past few days today. However, some profit taking may take place too today as Hangseng has gained a lot since last week. Small trading range may be expected today with energy stocks may be the main driving force in the market.