Asian market preview 14/08/2008

US markets were closed lower last night after a disappointing retail sales report, a jump in crude oil and further concerns over the health of financial sector. Investors are disappointed with retail sales report as the Commerce Department said that retail sales dropped 0.1% as rising prices offset the effect of economic stimulus payments to US household. Excluding the sales in automobiles, retail sales rose 0.4% but it is still at the lowest in 5 months. Oil prices also jumped $2.99 per barrel last night to settle at $116 per barrel after US government said that crude supplies fell unexpectedly last week. Although there are no further big news from the financial sector, investors are seeking safety and they take their bets off financials as the credit crisis seems to be far from over. Tech-heavy Nasdaq got boosted by Applied Materials Inc. after the company forecasted that orders would climb 5-10% in its fiscal fourth quarter. The Dow finished lower by 109.51 pts or 0.94% to 11,532.96, S&P500 slipped 3.76 pts or 0.29% to 1,285.83 while Nasdaq dropped 1.99 pts or 0.08% to 2,428.62.

Asian markets may open lower today and may extend yesterday's losses as more worries for US' financial sector, the rising in oil prices and slower retail sales in the US may also prove that consumer spending is still weak. However, with sharp drops around the region for the past 2 sessions, Asian markets may not drop too much today and may be volatile as bargain hunters may start kicking in. Oil was recently traded around $116ish per barrel, gold traded around $827ish and JPY traded around 109.30ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 12960 in CME compared to the close of 13015 here yesterday.

Kospi may open lower today following another weak session in the US after a weak retail sales report and a jump in oil prices sparked new concerns regarding the overall health of the economy. Kospi may fall to below 200 again today and may even touched its lowest point for 2008 if investors are more pessimistic. The market may be volatile today with bargain hunters may try to get cheap stocks but nervous investors may start selling their stocks and rearrange their portfolios. If market is closed below 200, it may go down further before it gets better.

Hangseng may open lower at around 21000 today following the weak session in the US. The market may go below 21000 today if optimism have faded away from investors and if China markets continue with their selloff like in the past few sessions. The jump in oil prices will not help the market as it sparked more nervousness of higher inflation around the region. Hangseng may find its support at 20800ish and its resistance at around 21300ish today.