Asian market preview 28/07/2008

US markets were closed with uneven gains on Friday after better-than-expected economic data helped boosted the markets which were plummeted a day earlier by concerns about housing and financial sector. Financials continued to drift lower on Friday on worries about the health of balance sheets, while a surge in profits for Juniper Networks Inc. boosted technology stocks. Commerce Department reported that orders sent to factories for big-ticket items such as cars rose by 0.8% in June, the strongest gain in 4 months and ahead of Wall St's expectations. Commerce Department also showed that new home sales declined by smaller-than-expected 0.6%. While it marked 7th decline in the past 8 months, the reading gave some hope that the housing market could be finding a bottom. Investors sell-off stocks on Thursday on weaker reading on existing home sales. There are also good news about consumer spendings as University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment came in at 61.2 while economists forecast a reading of 56.4. And the continued decline for oil, which was settled at $123.26 also helped boost markets sentiment on Friday. The Dow rose 21.41 pts or 0.19% to 11,370.69, S&P500 rose 5.22 pts or 0.42% to 1,257.76 while Nasdaq jumped 30.42 pts or 1.33% to 2,310.53. For the week, Dow fell 1.09% and S&P500 lost 0.23% while Nasdaq was up 1.22%.

Asian markets may open higher today following better economic readings in the US on Friday and also lower oil prices may boost investors' confidence today. Markets may continue their rally from last week as investors may start buying stocks on speculation that with lower oil, companies may get better profit margins in the coming months. Oil was recently traded around $123.23 per barrel, gold traded around $928.55ish and JPY traded around 107.89ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13460 in CME compared to the close of 13320 here on Friday.

Kospi may open higher today and may continue the rally from last week on lower oil. Kospi was closed lower on Friday on speculation that US markets may continue to be weak and investors were taking their profit off the table. However, with better-than-expected economic readings came out of the US on Friday, Kospi may continue its rally from last week. Lower oil prices may also help to boost investors' confidence today. Kospi may try to breach the 210 mark again today if investors are confident enough.

Hangseng may open higher today following better US economic data on Friday. Hangseng was closed lower on Friday after gaining more than 1,000 pts for the past week on profit taking. Today, Hangseng may continue higher and may again close above 23,000 mark. Lower oil prices may play a part in determining how well the market will perform and also China mainland markets may also help Hangseng on how well it will perform today. Hangseng may find its support at 22700 and its resistance at 23200 today.