Asian Index Futures

Market Preview Jumat, 18 February 2011

2011-02-18T08:13:00.002+07:00

Market Preview Jumat, 18 February 2011

Pasar2 di AS ditutup naik semalam setelah data manufaktur diberitakan positif. Data ekonomi juga menunjukan bahwa ada kenaikan sedikit untuk inflasi dan itu dinilai baik bagi para analis dan investor. Akan tetapi, perekonomian tetap dinilai masih memerlukan stimulus dari The Fed. Keresahan yang terjadi di Timur Tengah mengakibatkan harga minyak yang belum terlalu stabil dan juga harga emas yang terus menanjak.

Nikkei

Nikkei kemarin ditutup naik dan masih terlihat kuat untuk melanjutkan pola bullish dalam jangka menengah. Akan tetapi, tingginya stochastic kemungkinan dapat membawa Nikkei turun sedikit hari ini. Pergerakan dibawah 10900 dapat membawa Nikkei menuju 10800 dan kemudian 10750. Hanya pergerakan diatas level 10900 yang dapat membawa Nikkei bullish menuju 11000. Nikkei mungkin akan bergerak di kisaran 10800an-10900an.

Kospi

Kospi kemarin ditutup turun setelah adanya kecemasan baru tentang situasi dengan Korea Utara. Para pemain asing melepas saham2 kepemilikan mereka karena khawatir akan situasi di Korea. Akan tetapi, sentimen pasar yang kuat dapat menopang pasar dan dapat menghindarkan pasar untuk turun terlalu dalam. Kospi mungkin akan bergerak di kisaran 261an-265an.

Hangseng

Hangseng masih terlihat bullish untuk jangka menengah setelah kenaikan kemarin. Resisten terdekat ada di 23400. Break diatas level tersebut dapat membawa Hangseng naik lagi untuk kedepannya, namun patut diwaspadai juga karena tingginya stochastic juga dapat memicu pergerakan bearish sementara untuk menuju 23200 setelah penembusan keatas 23400. Hangseng mungkin akan bergerak di kisaran 23200an-23400an.

Demikianlah preview dan prediksi saya untuk pasar2 Asia hari ini. Preview dan prediksi ini adalah berdasarkan analisa saya pribadi. Saya tidak bertanggung jawab atas keakuratan data2 diatas. Terima kasih atas waktunya untuk membaca artikel ini.

Happy Trading.

Market Preview Thursday, 17th February 2011 (English)

2011-02-17T08:12:00.003+07:00

Market Preview Thursday, 17 February 2011

Strong earnings results and corporate deals helped lift the US markets higher last night, brought them to their highest close since 2008. Reports from the commerce department which said that new home constructions rose at its fastest rate in 20 months also helped lift the mood last night. The Fed revised their inflation target to 1.25% in 2012, indicating that they won't hike interest rates in near term. However, they also said that they will stop the 600 billion dollars bond buying program if the economy is strong enough.

Nikkei

Nikkei closed higher yesterday and today it looks like it can continue its bullish form after the US markets closed higher. The nearest resistance comes in at 10900 and then 11000. If it breaks below 10800, Nikkei may go bearish towards 10700. Nikkei may move between 10800ish-10900ish.

Kospi

Kospi closed lower yesterday after a late day selloff by foreign investors drag the index down. Today, Kospi may open higher and overall, Kospi still looks strong and bullish. Kospi may move between 261ish-265ish.

Hangseng

Hangseng managed to go above 23100 yesterday and in near term, Hangseng looks neutral with near term resistance at 23200. Break above that level may bring Hangseng back to bullish towards 23500. Nearest support is at 23000 and then 22800. Break below that level may bring Hangseng bearish towards 22500. Hangseng may move between 22800ish-23200ish.

2011-02-17T07:53:00.003+07:00

Market Preview Kamis, 17 February 2011

Pasar2 di AS ditutup menguat semalam, kembali mendekati level tingginya lagi. The Fed juga merilis data inflasinya yang direvisi menjadi 1.25% hingga tahun 2012 nanti, dan mengindikasikan bahwa mereka tidak akan menaikkan suku bunga dalam waktu dekat. Mereka juga menyatakan bahwa akan menarik kembali program stimulus 600 miliar dolar jika perekonomian terus menguat, namun untuk sekarang, perekonomian masih terlihat belum terlalu kuat. Pasar juga bereaksi akibat deal dan earnings yang cukup solid.

Nikkei

Nikkei kemarin ditutup menguat dan hari ini kemungkinan dapat melanjutkan penguatannya lagi setelah pasar2 di AS ditutup naik semalam. Resisten Nikkei berikutnya ada di 10900 dan kemudian di 11000. Jika Nikkei break dibawah 10800, patut diwaspadai koreksi bearish menuju 10700. Nikkei mungkin akan bergerak di kisaran 10800an-10900an.

Kospi

Kospi kemarin terkoreksi lagi cukup dalam menjelang penutupan ketika para pemain asing melakukan aksi jual besar2an. Hari ini, Kospi kemungkinan akan dibuka naik dan secara keseluruhan, bias masih terlihat tetap bullish untuk Kospi. Kospi mungkin akan bergerak di kisaran 261an-265an.

Hangseng

Hangseng kemarin berhasil tembus level 23100 dan pergerakan selanjutnya terlihat sedikit sidewaysdengan resisten terdekat ada di 23200. Pergerakan diatas level tersebut dapat membawa Hangseng kembali bullish menuju 23500. Support terdekat ada di 23000 dan kemudian di 22800. Break dibawah itu, dapat membawa Hangseng bearish kembali menuju 22500. Hangseng mungkin akan bergerak di kisaran 22800an-23200an.

Demikianlah preview dan prediksi saya untuk pasar2 asia hari ini. Preview dan prediksi ini adalah berdasarkan analisa saya pribadi. Saya tidak bertanggung jawab atas keakuratan data2 diatas. Terima kasih atas waktunya untuk membaca artikel ini.

Happy Trading.

Asian market Review 03/07/2009

2009-07-03T15:15:00.000+07:00

Nikkei opened down at 9690 on negative US data on jobless and initial claims last night. Jobless rate raise to 9.5% in June and initial claims in US is at 467,000 as reported last night. Investors fret about these bad data and they feel that economy recovery may not be as fast as predicted initially. Analysts said that with more high jobless rate, consumer spending maybe affected too and the US economy is supported mostly by consumer spending. Nikkei quickly shrugged off early morning weakness to rise above 9700 in early trade. Analysts have said that Japan and other Asia countries' economic foundation is better than that in the US. Traders are boosted by program buying led by foreign investors though trading volume remains light ahead of the long weekend in the US. Towards the close, Nikkei gained more and was closed at 9820 at 1.30PM my time.

Kospi opened down at 178.85 from yesterday's close at 181.85. Kospi quickly regained its ground as foreigners keep buying stocks and prompted local investors to follow suit. North Korean's missile test conducted yesterday had limited impact on the market today as investors feel that is old news. Kospi played around 180-181ish region before sprinting past 182ish towards the end of the day. Kospi ended in positive territory, closed at 182.70.

Hangseng opened down at 17955 and looked set to go down further to continue the downward trend from yesterday. It touched 17864 just after 15 mins of trading before it shot up when the cash market open in Hongkong. It then go up and play between 17900ish-18100ish and was closed at 18039 for 1st session. 2nd session opened at 18105 and Hangseng moved rather flat with upward bias. It touched its intraday high at 18194 before closed flat at 18138.

I'M BACK!!!!

2009-07-03T12:27:00.002+07:00

Fellow traders, After more than 6 months sitting on the sidelines taking a break from everything and going on holidays, I'm back in the game now. For the past half year, I've seen that the worldwide markets have gone to their lowest points in mid-march and they have also staged a very impressive rally in the past 3 months. Dow Jones Industrial Average reached its lowest point at 6469.95 on 6th March and have also touched its highest point for the year at 8900.48 on 5th June. Between its lowest and highest points, DJIA has rallied 37.6%.

The same thing happened around Asia region. Nikkei have touched its lowest point at 6935 on 9th March and its highest at 10180 on 12th June or 46.8% rally between its lowest and highest points.

Korean Kospi have also experienced the same thing as its regional peers. It touched its lowest point of 129 at 3rd March and its highest point of 183.60 at 12th June or 42.3% rally between its lowest and highest points.

Hongkong Hangseng is the clear winner among the 3 major markets in Asia which I cover in this blog. It reached its lowest point of 11324 at 9th March and its highest point of 19093 at 12th June or 68.6% rally between its lowest and highest points.

In the past 1 month, worldwide stock markets are having their consolidation periods. They're now waiting if the massive rallies are justified. The 3 months rally staged by worldwide markets are caused by good economic data and upbeat news given by economists. Not forgetting that major countries around the world pumped billions of dollar to help revive the failing global economy. It is not unusual for markets to take a breather from long rallies such as this. Right now, investors are waiting to see if Q2 earnings reports by various companies can support the rally. If there are more upbeat forecasts and good earnings reports, Dow Jones may end the year in the positive territory, Nikkei may breach 11,000, Kospi may go beyond 200 and Hangseng may breach its 21,000 mark.

To see more news and follow my daily analysis and predictions, come back to this blog everyday as I will update this blog early morning my time (GMT+7) and if I'm not too lazy, I'll write up daily reviews after market closes.

Cheers traders & Happy Trading

Asian market preview 24/11/2008

2008-11-24T03:19:00.002+07:00

US markets ended the turbulent week on a high note on Friday as markets soared on report that president-elect Barrack Obama have chosen his Treasury Secretary. Timothy Geithner, President of New York Fed, have been chosen to combat the US economic crisis. US markets are expected to stay volatile in the coming week with more economic data to come out in a shortened trading week because of Thanksgiving holiday. On Monday, president-elect Barrack Obama may be doing something really important where he will announce his team and may give a psychological boost to investors. He promised that he will create 2.5 million jobs by 2010. The Thanksgiving holiday will be used by markets to gauge the economic activity in the retail sector too. Lastly, unemployment data will be closely watched this week. The Dow ended up by 494.37 pts or 6.55% to 8,046.66, S&P500 shot up 47.57 pts or 6.32% to 800.01 while Nasdaq rose 68.23 pts or 5.18% to 1,384.35.

Asian markets may open higher today following the jolt of confidence in the US over the appointment of Timothy Geithner to become Treasury Secretary for Barrack Obama. Investors may find this as an opportunity to buy up stocks which were beaten down last week. Oil was closed at $49.30 per barrel, gold was closed at $791.80 and JPY was closed at 95.67. Nikkei futures was closed at 7900 in CME compared to the close of 7700 here on Friday. Nikkei will be closed for holiday today.

Kospi may open higher and may continue its rally from Friday today following the US markets boost. Investors may finally find some reason to buy stocks and may build from Friday's rally. Lower oil also put inflationary pressure at rest as oil prices get lower than $50 per barrel. Kospi may find its support at 127ish and its resistance at 137ish today.

Hangseng may open higher and may go further as US markets were boosted on Friday and China's nuclear expansion program. Confidence may drive investors to buy into stocks today and hopefully the rally can last this time. Hangseng may find its support at 12500ish and its resistance at 13600ish today.

Asian market preview 21/11/2008

2008-11-21T05:20:00.002+07:00

US markets plunged again last night to levels not seen since 1997 for S&P500 and the rest of major markets touched the lows formed in 2002. Financials and energy sector led the tumble in the markets today. Investors feared that the government's financial rescue won't be sufficient to cover banks' losses. Meanwhile, a 7% drop in crude prices hurt energy sector pretty bad last night. Investors are also concerned that the automakers bailout plan have hit a wall as Democratic leaders postponed another proposal by automakers to Dec 2. However, the pullback last night was seen as encouraging by some analysts as the selling volume was heavy last night and that was exactly what they were looking for. Heavy selling came after the markets breached a 5-year technical resistance point and fear took over for investors and they continue on selling. Markets are still looking for a bottom to get the turnaround they needed. Meanwhile, the number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose to 25 year high as shown by government data and a regional manufacturing gauge slumped as economic misery intensified. The Dow ended down by 444.99 pts or 5.56% to 7,552.29, S&P500 tumbled 54.14 pts or 6.71% to 752.44 while Nasdaq fell 70.30 pts or 5.07% to 1,316.12.

Asian markets may fall again today and some may re-test the lows touched in October. Fear and pessimism seem to be gripping the markets now as investors are afraid to make big investments around the region. Global economic outlook seem to be very gloomy now as the US recession deepened. More investors may also dump shares today ahead of the weekend and they want to preserve the leftover cash they have now. Oil prices plunged as investors fear that demands will keep faltering well into the next year. Crude oil was recently traded around $49.40ish per barrel, gold traded around $748.70. Gold rose as investors saw it as an alternative and safer investment during this time. JPY was recently traded around 94.13ish and Nikkei futures was closed at 7350 compared to the close of 7560 here yesterday. Nikkei may trade between 7000ish and 7500ish today.

Kospi may open lower yet again today and may test the October intraday lows today. Nervous investors may dump stocks again today. The losses may be intensified by Posco as its US ADRs fell 9.1% last night in US trading. Foreigners may keep running away from the local market, selling and try to hold cash from whatever stocks left to sell. Kospi may find its support at 115ish and its resistance at 125ish today.

Hangseng may open lower today following another huge selloff in the US which saw markets touched 11-year lows last night. More fear and uncertainties may grip investors today and they may decide to dump stocks. Petrochina may lead the losses as energy prices tumbled following the diminishing global demands. China mainland markets may also play a significant part to determine how deep the market will fall today. Hangseng may find its support at 11300ish and its resistance at 12300ish today.

Asian market preview 19/11/2008

2008-11-19T07:53:00.001+07:00

US markets staged a late rally last night in another turbulent session as investors rushed back into the markets after the S&P500 market tested 2003 low. Investors, who have been sidelined for the past 4 out of 5 sessions, used the momentum to buy into stocks and joined in the rally. At least, one of the reasons of the rally was because fund managers had to find replacement for Anheuser-Busch Cos. as it will be officially removed at markets' close after it completed its takeover by Belgium's InBev SA. Another reason of the rally was because Hewlett-Packard reported better than expected earnings and provided a strong projection for Q4 and 2009. Overall markets sentiment is still negative as there are still many bad news regarding the bigger economy picture. The Labor Department reported that wholesale prices plunged the most in October and meanwhile, homebuilders' confidence sank to a new all-time low this month. Analysts believed that markets are still trying to find its real bottom and volatility will stay for quite a while as fears of a deepening recession grip the markets. Markets will need more strength from here for a period of time to develop a convincing story that the market has bottomed. The Dow ended up by 151.17 pts or 1.83% to 8,424.75, S&P500 rose by 8.37 pts or 0.98% to 859.12 while Nasdaq rose 8.37 pts or 0.98% to 1,483.27. Meanwhile, the congress and Bush administration are debating as to how to save the big 3 automakers. Congress proposed to use part of the $700 billion bailout money but Bush's administration said that there are other ways to save the automakers.

Asian markets may open higher today after plunging yesterday and may stay above the positive territory today as bargain hunters kick in. As analysts have said so many times, markets everywhere will be testing and retesting October lows and try to find the bottom before the markets find strength to stage a strong rebound. Crude oil fell yet again as investors see easing demands in the coming quarters. Oil was recently traded around $54.40ish per barrel, gold traded around $737.60ish and JPY traded around 96.90ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 8450 in CME compared to the close of 8285 here yesterday. Nikkei may trade between 8100ish and 8600ish today.

Kospi may open higher today following a late recovery in US markets and some bargain hunters may try to get into the market after Kospi lost almost 4% yesterday. The overall global economy may still weigh on the market but investors' confidence may be built little by little as share prices look so very attractive at current levels. Chip makers may lead the way after positive guidance from HP over in the US last night. Lower oil prices may also make investors to think that with inflation threat is diminishing, the government have more room to jolt the economy back into life. Kospi may find its support at 132ish and its resistance at 139ish today.

Hangseng may open higher after plunging almost 5% yesterday following a US markets' rebound and support from regional markets. Bargain hunters may come in and buy stocks at current levels. However, China mainland markets may also play a part to determine whether Hangseng will stage a strong rebound or it will go back down again today. Hangseng may find its support at 12400ish and its resistance at 13300ish today.

Asian market preview 18/11/2008

2008-11-18T05:17:00.003+07:00

US markets plunged again last night on the first trading day of the week. The fear of a deepening recession caused investors to dump stocks in a very volatile session. The financial sector is still showing struggling signal as Citigroup Inc. is cutting another 53,000 jobs and it plans to lower expenses by about 20%. Investors are also still waiting whether the troubled automakers would get a bailout from the $700 billion package. Industrial output came in better-than-expected last night, rising 1.3% compared to the 0.2% increase predicted by analysts. However, this figure is not encouraging enough as investors are still nervous about the bigger economy picture and there are more bad news compared to that single good news. Meanwhile, corporate earnings seems to have hit the wall and investors are unsure when it will recover. Retailers kept posting smaller revenues or forecasting weaker earnings in the coming quarters as consumer spending slowed. Wall Street was also disappointed as there are lack of directions taken to resolve the current crisis by the G-20 meeting over the weekend. The Dow ended down by 223.73 pts or 2.63% to 8,273.58, S&P500 fell 22.54 pts or 2.58% to 850.75 while Nasdaq ended lower by 34.80 pts or 2.29% to 1,482.05

Asian markets may open lower today following more bad news and more nervousness came out of the US last night. However, regional markets proved to have shown a bit of resilience yesterday as some of them managed to stay positive. Those performances yesterday may yet be tested again today whether investors still have the slight confidence in them to invest in Asia. Crude oil prices fell last night to close at 22-month low and was recently traded around $55.10ish per barrel, gold traded around $736ish and JPY traded around 96.35ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 8420 in CME compared to the close of 8415 here yesterday. Japan's Nikkei rose yesterday despite reports showing that the country is in a recession. Nikkei may find its support at 8100ish and its resistance at 8600ish today.

Kospi may open lower today following more fears shown by the US investors as they dumped stocks in the US trading session last night. However, Kospi may follow regional markets' trading pattern today. Kospi may show more resilience today as investors may look up for cheap stocks and invest for long-term. Kospi may find its support at 136ish and its resistance at 145ish today.

Hangseng may open lower yet again today following the same regional pattern. Baidu.com may weigh in the China mainland markets which may also weigh on Hangseng today. Morgan Stanley and Merril Lynch raised concerns about Baidu's listing practices as it seems that the company provided top positions for unlicensed medical web sites willing to pay more for popular key words. Hangseng may find its support at 12900ish and its resistance at 13700ish today.

Asian market preview 17/11/2008

2008-11-17T01:16:00.002+07:00

US markets were closed sharply lower on Friday as investors cashed in after a big rally the day before and return their focus on the economy. Hedge fund selling ahead of a Saturday deadline contributed most of the markets' downturn. There were plenty discouraging news about the economy including comments from Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke saying that the markets remain under "severe strain" and a sobering report on October retail sales. Analysts believe that the markets are still searching for a bottom after last month's heavy sell-off and investors are just too nervous to invest for long term. Ben Bernanke also noted that he would work closely with other central banks and left the door open for a fresh round of interest rate cuts. This news did not cheer investors too much as they aren't sure how effective these rate cuts are going to be. The Commerce Department reported that October retail sales fell by 2.8%, surpassing its old lowest mark of 2.65% drop in November 2001 after the terrorist attacks. Now, investors are confirmed that the economic slowdown is going to last to next year and maybe more and that 2009 will be a very bad year for economic activity. The only concern is that investors are still unsure of how bad the slowdown is going to be next year. The Dow ended down by 337.93 pts or 3.82% to 8,497.31, S&P500 fell 38.00 pts or 4.17% to 873.29 while Nasdaq fell 79.85 pts or 5% to 1,516.85.

Asian markets may open lower and start the week weaker today following more downturn in the US on Friday. Bernanke's comments may weigh on investors sentiment today and concerns about the overall economic activity may cause investors to think twice before going in the market. Investors may also cashed out after staging a recovery rally on Friday for the regional markets. However, seeing at how things are going, investors may already realized that the global economy is going to slow further and if markets fell too much today, bargain hunting may kick in again. Oil prices also fell on Friday and was closed at $57.04 per barrel, gold was last traded at $742.50 and JPY last traded at 97.07. Nikkei futures was closed at 8460 at CME compared to the close of 8575 here on Friday.

Kospi may open lower today following US markets' tumble on Friday on fresh economic concerns. Investors may also be eyeing the PPI figure due to come out today to determine the general market direction. Markets may also be pressurized as there are no strong action at the weekend G-20 meeting that take place from Saturday in Washington. However, if markets fell too much, bargain hunters may kick in yet again as they see this as an opportunity. Kospi may find its support at 137ish and its resistance at 147ish today.

Hangseng may open lower today following the tumble in the US markets on Friday and also as there are no fresh new ideas of support from the G-20 meeting. Lower oil prices may eventually help the general markets but in the near term, investors are focusing on the global economic slowdown and that may cause investors to become nervous and may led to a selloff today for Hangseng. China mainland markets may play a part today to give support to prevent Hangseng from falling too deep. Hangseng may find its support at 12800ish and its resistance at 13800ish today.

Asian market preview 14/11/2008

2008-11-14T06:02:00.002+07:00

US markets soared last night with major markets rising more than 6% after investors feel that recent pullbacks have been too much and they do not want to miss the opportunity to get cheap stocks. Markets started the day lower after Labor Department reported that newly laid-off individual seeking unemployment benefits rose to its highest last week since Sept 11, 2001. Signs of worsening consumer spending was also shown as Wal-mart and Intel cut its full year earnings and sales forecast. However, when the markets managed to stay above Oct 10th intraday lows, investors took it as an opportunity and buy stocks so that they won't miss out on the rally. Investors are also partly hopeful about the G20 meeting to be held over the weekend in Washington. Analysts said that this situation is what they've been expected where markets retest its multiyear lows formed on Oct 10th and tried to build its base from there while its recovering gradually. Markets are predicted to see more volatilities for some time before it can find its upward trend. The Dow ended up by 552.59 pts or 6.67% to 8,835.25, S&P500 rose 58.99 pts or 6.92% to 911.29 while Nasdaq soared 97.49 pts or 6.50% to 1,596.70.

Asian markets may open higher today following the big rally posted on Wall St. Bargain hunters finally dominated the markets last night as greed overcame fear when markets are nearing its multiyear lows formed on Oct 10th. Regional markets may also follow the same pattern as investors may gauge that markets have priced in enough for the current set of bad news. As stocks rally, oil prices also rally and crude oil was recently traded around $58.20ish per barrel, gold traded around $705ish and JPY traded around 97.65ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 8830 in CME compared to the close of 8260 here yesterday.

Kospi may open higher and may follow same pattern as the US as bargain hunters seek cheap stocks. The fundamentals are still the same with global economy weakening but as stocks are fairly cheap at current levels, investors may want to buy the stocks and do not want to miss out on early rallies such as this. With oil managed to stay below $60 per barrel, recession fears also subsides and government worldwide may cut retail gas prices to curb inflation. Kospi may find its support at 147ish and its resistance at 155ish today.

Hangseng may open higher today and may follow the same pattern as the US markets and regional markets today. Market may be further boosted by oil related companies as oil rallied last night. China mainland markets may also play a significant part to determine whether Hangseng will join the huge rally or not. Yesterday, China's markets were one of the few regional markets that managed to stay positive. Measures from the Chinese government seems to still have positive impact for investors. Investors may also placing their bets that some positive outcome to come out of the G-20 meeting to be held over the weekend in Washington. Hangseng may find its support at 13600ish and its resistance at 14500ish today.

Asian market preview 13/11/2008

2008-11-13T04:45:00.002+07:00

US markets tumbled yet again last night, with major markets falling more than 4% as investors got disheartened after the government said that they won't purchase troubled assets from banks. This decision however, bring different views as some analysts believe that it is the right thing to do for the government not buying troubled mortgage-assets from banks as it would take a very long time while some other analysts concerned that the bailout funds depleted way too fast. Investors got more nervous as more companies showed signs of being hurt by the pullback in consumer spending. Macy's Inc. said that it lost $44 million in third quarter as sales fell more than 7%. Meanwhile, consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Co. slashed its fiscal 2009 guidance on fears that consumer spending will slow further. These news came on top of disappointing news from Starbucks Corp. and homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc. the day before. Analysts believed that the markets are in a typical process of testing and retesting its intraday low hit on Oct 10 and investors do not want to hold stocks overnight in times like this. The Dow finished down by 411.30 pts or 4.73% to 8,282.66, S&P500 fell 46.65 pts or 5.19% to 852.30 while Nasdaq fell 81.69 pts or 5.17% to 1,499.21.

Asian markets may open lower yet again today following another sharp drop in US markets last night. Investors confidence is being eroded bit by bit in this situation and it may made them lose faith to buy stocks in the regional markets. Oil sensitive stocks may fall again today as crude oil fell below $57 per barrel on fear that global economic growth will slow more than initially feared next year. Crude oil was recently traded around $55.90ish per barrel, gold traded around $711.40ish and JPY traded around 94.80ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 8180 in CME compared to the close of 8610 here yesterday.

Kospi may open lower today following more bad news about slowing consumer spending in US and after the US government reiterated new plans to rescue the financial system. The weakening Won may not help investors too as foreigners dump more stocks in the country. However, if the market fall too much, there may be some bargain hunters who would come in and buy stocks for long term as current stock prices are at a very cheap levels. Kospi may find its support at 140ish and its resistance at 150ish today.

Hangseng may open lower again today following more bad news from the US and on concerns that consumer will spend less around the world. However, strong China's retail figures may help stocks today as it showed that global slowdown do not affect Chinese local markets too much. China's retail sales rose 22% in October, close to its fastest pace in nine years. Bargain hunters may emerge if the market fall too much today. Hangseng may find its support at 12800ish and its resistance at 13900ish today.

Asian market preview 12/11/2008

2008-11-12T05:02:00.002+07:00

US markets closed lower again last night on more worries that the drop in consumer spending will hurt all sector including luxury home builders, coffee sellers and car makers. Investors realized that it's becoming really hard to rely on average consumers to pull the economy out of its downturn after Starbucks Corp. reported lower sales across its coffee chain and Toll Brothers Inc. posted a sharp drop in revenue and said its hard to predict what the luxury homebuilder's profit would be next year. Meanwhile, Wall Street is also waiting for bailout from the federal government to help the ailing automakers after GM shares plunged to 60-year lows. Investors are more worried as they're uncertain on how bad the situation they're really in and analysts predicted that markets will have its wild swing within this range and will not be able to recover fully until they know for sure about the depth of the recession. More bailout money have been made available to AIG and American Express Co. have become a commercial bank. The Dow ended the day lower by 176.58 pts or 1.99% to 8,693.96, S&P500 fell 20.26 pts or 2.20% to 898.95 while Nasdaq fell 35.84 pts or 2.22% to 1,580.90.

Asian markets may open lower again today following another drop in US markets last night on more worries about consumer spending. Depending on how the markets and investors will take it around the region, another big drop in the markets may signal more buying opportunity for long-term investors. However, if there are no positive news to come out from Asian region, it's inevitable for the markets to make further pullbacks. The drop in oil prices may hurt producers today but it may prove to be good in long term. Oil was recently traded around $58.90ish per barrel, gold traded around $731.20ish and JPY traded around 97.60ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 8500 in CME compared to the close of 8700 here yesterday.

Kospi may open lower again today following more drops and more pessimism to come out of the US markets last night. Lower oil prices may hurt oil related companies and worries about consumer spending may also hit retailers in the country. Global economic outlook seems weaker than before and this may weigh on the market and cause more foreign investors to flee the market today. Kospi may find its support at around 140ish and its resistance at around 152ish today.

Hangseng may open lower today following another round of fresh worries from the US markets. CNOOC is seen to trade lower as its ADRs in the US fell 8.3% on lower oil prices. China mainland markets may hurt Hangseng too today as more companies reported lower earnings. Investors may find it hard to be optimistic and buy stocks today although the stock prices seem to be quite attractive. However, if there's another very sharp drop today, long term investors and bargain hunters may kick in and start collecting. Hangseng may find its support at 13000ish and its resistance at 14300ish today.

Asian market preview 11/11/2008

2008-11-11T04:33:00.002+07:00

US markets ended the day lower last night as optimism over China's stimulus package fades. Investors are still worried about the economy and they're not sure how deep and how long the recession will last in the US. Markets initially opened much higher on new found optimism as China's government unveil its $586 billion stimulus package and also the G-20 nations said it will act urgently to bolster growth while calling governments to cut interest rates. Profit outlook and growth forecasts weigh on stocks in the afternoon. Goldman Sachs may report a loss of $2.50 a share and that sent the stock to fall 8.5% while Google Inc. may report a lower revenue and profit in 4th quarter due to deteriorating online ads demand. Meanwhile, General Motors lost 23% as analysts predicted its stocks may go down to zero and cut its recommendation to sell from hold. The Dow fell 73.27 pts or 0.82% to 8,870.54, S&P500 fell 11.78 pts or 1.27% to 919.21 while Nasdaq fell 30.66 pts or 1.86% to 1,616.74.

Asian markets may open lower following more economic woes from the US and as investors may still find it hard to get the mood to turn over the market from bearish to bullish. Nervous investors may want to take their money off the table after quite a huge rally yesterday. However, some investors may think that the Chinese stimulus package may help the regional markets and may still want to buy stocks for long term purposes. Crude oil price looked steady and was recently traded around $62.25ish per barrel, gold traded around $745.20ish and JPY traded around 98ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 8940 in CME compared to the close of 9290 here yesterday.

Kospi may open lower today following the fall in the US overnight. Concerns on the health of US economy may drag stocks lower today as investors may think that weak economy will hurt demands and growth worldwide. The recession is deepening in the US with job losses at record high and investors do not have a clue as to how bad the recession will have its impact globally. Kospi may find its support at 145ish and its resistance at 157ish today.

Hangseng may open lower today following US markets' fall last night. Investors may have a profit taking session today as there are still more concerns about the whole global economy. China mainland markets may determine whether Hangseng will fall sharply or will it hold steady. Chinese stocks still rise last night in US trading and that may have impact on today's trading session. Hangseng may find its support at 14000ish and its resistance at 15300ish today.

Asian market preview 10/11/2008

2008-11-10T00:39:00.002+07:00

US markets were closed higher on Friday as bargain hunters scooped up cheap stocks which are at multiyear lows. The highly anticipated October jobs report which was due out on Friday did little to shock investors as analysts from Goldman Sachs have predicted of up to 300,000 jobs was cut in October. The reports came in at 240,000 job cuts and was above the median forecast of 200,000 jobs lost. Trading volumes was moderate on Friday and price swings were not as bad as previous sessions. Oil stocks and defensive stocks led the rally on Friday as investors chose their stocks carefully. The Dow ended up by 248.02 pts or 2.85% to 8,943.81, S&P500 rose 26.11 pts or 2.89% to 930.99 while Nasdaq climbed 38.70 pts or 2.41% to 1,647.40. For the week, all markets lost about 4% and marked the worst presidential election week for the Dow since 1948.

Asian markets may open higher today and may stage another rally on optimism that all countries are doing everything they can to avoid further disaster in the global economic downturn. The $586 billion stimulus package unveiled by Chinese government over the weekend may give boost to regional markets. Investors are also trying to be part of the rally as they may find bargain stocks right about these price levels. Oil prices which stayed above the psychological $60 level may also provide support to oil producers. Oil was last traded at $61.04 per barrel, gold traded at $734.20 and JPY traded at 98.32. Nikkei futures was closed at 8850 in CME compared to the close of 8700 here on Friday.

Kospi may open higher today as US investors shrugged off bad jobs data and greed prevails over fear. Bargain hunters may lead the market higher today and the aggressive rate cuts performed by the BoK may show investors that the government is willing to do anything to save the economy. BoK cut its interest rates by 25 basis points to 4% and it signaled the 3rd rate cut in a month. Kospi may find its support at 147ish and its resistance at 157ish today.

Hangseng may open higher and may continue Friday's rally after US staged a rally on Friday despite bad economic data. The stimulus package unveiled by the mainland Chinese government may provide some boost to the market today and may given investors more reason to buy and join in the rally. Oil sensitive stocks may rise today as oil price is looking steady above $60 per barrel. Hangseng may find its support at 13800ish and its resistance at 15000ish today.

Asian market preview 07/11/2008

2008-11-07T05:10:00.003+07:00

US markets tumbled last night in a worst 2-day slump since 1987, where markets lost about 10% in total on economic fear. The losses are triggered by Cisco Systems as they issued warning of slumping demand and also as retailers reported weak sales for October. Adding to investors' list of worries, the labor department said the number of people continuing to draw unemployment benefits jumped to a 25-year high, increasing 122,000 to 3.84 million in October. New claims for unemployment benefits dipped by 4,000 to 481,000 last week but the levels remained high. These levels added to the worries by investors who are waiting anxiously for the October employment report due to come out on Friday, which is the most watched barometer of economy's health. Light trading volumes add to the volatility in the markets last night. Analysts also believed that some pullbacks is expected after a recent 6-days run up which saw markets surged more than 15%. Many investors are still waiting on the sidelines and prefer to wait as the markets are in the process of finding the real bottom. Investors are also curious as to what the new elected president, Obama's plan will bring to the economy. The Dow ended down by 443.48 pts or 4.85% to 8,695.79, S&P500 fell 47.89 pts or 5.03% to 904.88 while Nasdaq fell 72.94 pts or 4.34% to 1,608.70. Over the past 2 days, the Dow lost 9.7%, S&P500 lost 10% while Nasdaq lost 9.6%.

Asian markets today may open lower following the 2-day rout in the US after more weak economic readings spooked investors who are still nervous and try to find markets' bottom. Investors also took the opportunity to quickly cash out after the markets made a huge comeback rally since last week. Asian markets tumbled yesterday and may even fall further today as investors are also waiting for more news from the US to gauge how bad and deep the recession problem in the US really is. Crude oil also fell last night on more economic concerns and was recently traded around $60.50ish per barrel, gold traded around $732.10ish and JPY traded around 97.45ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 8390 in CME compared to the close of 8700 here yesterday.

Kospi may open lower today and may extend its losses from yesterday. More economic worries in the US and fears that it may spread globally may make investors to take the money off from the stock market. Foreigners who have been net sellers may sell more today and may trigger local investors to follow the same patterns. However, long term investors may treat this as the usual case for bear markets and may take this as an opportunity to buy more stocks and collect more. Kospi may find its support at 132ish and its resistance at around 140ish.

Hangseng may open lower today and may extend its losses from yesterday on more worrying economic data from the US. More declines in commodity prices may weigh on the market further. However, China mainland markets have been quite steady for the past week and investors may take cue and may collect stocks at current discounted prices. Long term investors may find this as more opportunity to buy more stocks as the markets are re-testing the bottom formed on October. Hangseng may find its support at 12600ish and its resistance at 13300ish today.

Asian market preview 31/10/2008

2008-10-31T05:01:00.002+07:00

US markets closed higher last night in a relatively calm trading session after GDP reports showed better-than-expected results. Last night's trading session was less erratic compared to the previous sessions this month where markets swung in 500 points range. The Commerce Dept reported that GDP fell at an annual rate of 0.3 compared to the decline of 0.5 expected by analysts. However, the measure still pointing to an economy contraction in Q3 and analysts are predicting that high market volatility will continue on for several months. Investors still remained cautious about the whole economic outlook and corporate earnings may remain grim for sometime. If earnings report showed more negativity, investors may test markets' low again and heavy sell-offs can be seen in the coming months. The Dow ended up by 189.73 pts or 2.11% to 9,180.69, S&P500 rose 24.00 or 2.58% to 954.09 while Nasdaq rose 41.31 pts or 2.49% to 1,698.52.

Asian markets may open rather flat today following the mild rise on Wall St last night on better GDP report. Asian markets may continue its rally today but may not rise as much and may even have a profit taking session after 3 days of huge rallies. Cautious investors may take their recent winnings off the table as GDP report in the US still showed that economy is contracting though not as bad. Oil prices also declined as economy slows in the US. Oil was recently traded around $65.65ish per barrel, gold traded around $738.50ish and JPY traded around 98.70ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 9020 in CME compared to the close of 9025 here yesterday.

Kospi may open rather flat with an upward bias in the morning and building from its huge rally yesterday after recouping its losses the day before on false rumor. Kospi may extend yesterday's rally but may also give up its rally later on in the day. Profit taking may take place towards market close as weekend is around the corner and investors may want to take recent winnings off the table. Kospi may find its support at 136ish and its resistance at 145ish today.

Hangseng may open higher today following the rise in US markets and good earnings report so far. However, bad earnings from Bank of Communications may cause investors to have a profit taking session today after recent run ups which took Hangseng up by more than 20% in 3 days. Investors may turn cautious again today ahead of the weekend and may lock in recent gains. Hangseng may find its support at 13500ish and its resistance at 14300ish today.

Asian market preview 30/10/2008

2008-10-30T05:28:00.002+07:00

US markets were closed mixed last night even after The Fed has given markets the rate cut they wanted. Markets shot up higher in the last hour of trading but gave up its gains in the final minutes of trading. Analysts were baffled and there are mixed views as to why markets turned south at the final minutes. Some analysts believed that investors were just trying to rush and lock in profits after a big jump in the markets a day before and others cited reports of a lackluster profit forecast at General Electric Co. The markets are still digesting what The Fed rate cut means to the overall economy and what the comments sent out by The Fed really means. Analysts said that The Fed's message means that the economy is slowing but the risk of a deep recession can be avoided. The Dow ended the day down by 74.16 pts or 0.82% to 8,990.96, S&P500 fell 10.42 pts or 1.11% to 930.09 while Nasdaq rose 7.74 pts or 0.47% to 1,657.21.

Asian markets may open rather flat with upward bias today following the much anticipated rate cut by The Fed and as traders around the region may think that the markets have been heavily sold off. Markets may make further advances today on believe that central banks worldwide are going to do everything they can to get out of this mess. Crude prices also rose last night and was recently traded around $68.16ish per barrel, gold traded around $758.70ish and JPY traded around 97.42ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 8550 in CME compared to the close of 8320 here yesterday.

Kospi may open higher today after having a rough rollercoaster ride yesterday. Kospi was opened much higher yesterday and it dipped downwards in the afternoon after a rumor came out saying that the country needs help from IMF to stay afloat. It swung from +8% to -10% in the afternoon and then was closed at -4% at the end of the day. South Korean official later dismissed that rumor and that brought some calm to the market. Kospi may have a rally today after The Fed cut its interest rate to 1% and traders may even believe that BoK will do further to make more easing to stimulate economic growth. Kospi may find its resistance at 140ish and its support at 125ish today.

Hangseng may open higher today and build on yesterday's gains. However, trading may be highly volatile today as investors may try to lock in profits after recent big gains in the market. Good earnings report from Bank of China and China Cosco may push the index higher today. However, weak investors' sentiment may push markets downward too. Hangseng may find its support at 12300ish and its resistance at 13300ish today.

Asian market preview 29/10/2008

2008-10-29T05:31:00.003+07:00

US markets had an astounding advance last night, with markets rose more than 10% and the Dow locking in a 890 points rise which was the 2nd biggest compared to the 936 points advance on Oct 13. There are no new fundamentals to support the rally last night and analysts believed that bargain hunters came in and built the rally from early in the session. Greed have replaced fear for now as some analysts said but they are still mostly pessimistic that the rally won't hold. The rally came as optimism rose that The Fed will cut its interest rate by 50 basis points at the end of its 2-day policy meeting today. Investors also looked past consumer confidence data, which fell to 38 compared to 51 expected by analysts. Analysts believed that there's a fire sale going on for stocks around the world and bargain hunters have come in to buy them now as they feel that the markets' plunge was overdone. The Dow surged 889.35 pts or 10.88% to 9,065.12, S&P500 rose 91.59 pts or 10.79% to 940.51 while Nasdaq rose 143.57 pts or 9.53% to 1,649.47.

Asian markets may open higher today and advance further following yesterday's big rebound. Stocks are really cheap compared to companies' valuation and investors may realize now that it is the right time to buy stocks for long term profitability. Even after companies gave out disappointing results, stocks still advance like Honda. There's also a growing speculation that BoJ is leaning toward cutting its interest rate to 0.25% and that fueled carry trade for JPY. Meanwhile, oil prices seen steady with downward bias too and was recently traded around $62.73ish per barrel, gold traded around $740.50ish and JPY traded around 98.20ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 8110 in CME compared to the close of 7590 here yesterday.

Kospi may open higher today following the big jump in US markets last night and Kospi may advance further as investors may start coming in again to buy stocks. Bargain hunters may dominate the market today as stocks are seen to be quite cheap now. However, volatility may still be high as there are no apparent good news to support the big rally in the US or for South Korea. The fundamentals are still the same as yesterday or last week. Kospi may find its resistance at 145ish and its support at 137ish today.

Hangseng may surge higher today and may build from yesterday's big rally. The good earnings from CNOOC may boost Hangseng but the prospect of bad earnings from Sinopec, Air China may limit its rally today. However, with stocks have fallen so much in recent days, greed may replace fears today and stocks may have quite a rally. Hangseng may find its resistance at 13500ish and its support at 12800ish today. More US economic data still to come out tonight and that may also limit the gains for Hangseng and other markets around the region as investors are still quite nervous.

Asian market preview 27/10/2008

2008-10-27T05:23:00.003+07:00

US markets were closed lower yet again on Friday on belief that global recession is at hand. Markets fell after more grim corporate outlook came out on Friday. First it was Sony which triggered heavy selling in Japan, then automaker Daimler also reported grim outlook in Germany. These reports came following Microsoft's earlier report which issued a weaker-than-expected forecast for the coming quarter. All these bad corporate news added to the anxiety in the markets and sent panic all over investors' minds. Investors are convinced that the world economy is headed for a severe downturn even as governments raced to revive credit markets on the hope that a normal lending levels by banks will fan economic activities. However, some analysts believed that recent pullbacks were caused by forced selling attributed to margin calls and investors in hedge funds and mutual funds are cashing out. Technically markets worldwide are way oversold but bargain hunters who wanted to come in was kept at bay as selling pressure continues. The Dow ended down by 312.30 pts or 3.59% to 8,378.95 after falling more than 500 pts in early trade. S&P500 fell 31.34 pts or 3.45% to 876,77 while Nasdaq fell 51.88 pts or 3.23% to 1,552.03.

Asian markets may open lower again today following more corporate bad news and a fall in US markets. However, in a very oversold market, investors may finally find some bargain to buy stocks. The low oil prices may come in as a good boost as inflation pressure have eased a lot with energy prices came in at around $60ish per barrel. The prospects of more bad economic data to come out of the US may put further pressure on markets globally. Oil was recently traded around $64.80ish per barrel, gold traded around $737.70ish as gold is seen as a safe-haven in these troubled times. Nikkei futures was closed at 7550 in CME compared to the close of 7290 here on Friday.

Kospi may open slightly higher after plunging more than 10% on Friday. Investors may be encouraged a little bit as BoK called an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss what analysts believe to be another rate cut. If the rate cut does come, it may give a temporary boost to the stock markets but that boost may only be seen as an opportunity for investors to cash out as investors are still fearful of global market outlook. However, that being said, the Kospi was too oversold and it posted a record weekly decline last week. Kospi may find its resistance at 133ish and its support at 120ish today.

Hangseng may open slightly higher after a series of selling off in the market last week. Weak investors' sentiment have put Hangseng under pressure and weak economic outlook from major banks also contributed to the selloff. However, with possible further action from governments in China and Hong Kong, markets may see a temporary rebound as bargain hunters may start to come in and collect the cheap stocks. Hangseng may find its support at 12000 and its resistance at 13500ish today.

Asian market preview 24/10/2008

2008-10-24T05:32:00.002+07:00

US markets ended a very volatile session last night mixed but showed some positive signs that bargain hunters are again trying to get back into the markets. The battle between bargain hunters and investors who are trying to cash out caused a very volatile environment for the markets. Analysts believed that investors are trying to find big names stocks and buy them up after being battered for the past 2 sessions. However, whenever the markets rally, nervous investors sold off their holdings as they are concerned about the state of the global economy and fear of a prolonged recession. The rally in the markets last night was led by energy companies as oil prices rose from its 16-month low as OPEC said that they would cut production amid falling demands. Tech stocks still got a beating as Amazon and Sandisk weigh on that sector. Meanwhile, labor department reported that new application for unemployment rose 15,000 last week to 478,000 slightly higher than the 470,000 predicted by analysts. Jobless claims above 400,000 signaled a recession and this is what investors are afraid of. Most of them are struggling to accept the reality that the US is indeed in recession and still believed that they can 'avoid' a recession. The Dow ended up by 172.04 pts or 2.02% to 8,691.25, S&P500 rose 11.33 pts or 1.26% to 908.11 while Nasdaq fell 11.84 pts or 0.73% to 1,603.91.

Asian markets may open slightly on the upside following a mild rally on Wall St overnight. Markets around the region may rebounded today but remain highly volatile as investors still struggling with the state of global economy. Slightly higher oil prices may give a boost to energy producers. Bargain hunters also may come in and seek cheap stocks after the markets only rose once in the past 5 sessions. Oil was recently traded around $69.17ish per barrel, gold traded around $724.90ish and JPY traded around 97.40ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 8300 in CME last night compared to the close of 8215 here yesterday.

Kospi may open slightly on the upside and may prompt some bargain hunters who may cause a rally early in the morning. However, with investors remain very nervous, any rally may be short-lived and may prompt investors to see that as an opportunity to cash out. The weakening Won again may weigh on the market and weak investors' confidence may cause Kospi to fall even further. Earnings results from Samsung Corp. may prove crucial to determine whether Kospi can have a rally today or will it fall further. Kospi may find its support at 135ish today and its resistance at 145ish. If Kospi managed to fall below 135ish, it may prompt more panic selling and may even go towards 130ish or lower.

Hangseng may open slightly higher following a positive end to Wall St's volatile session last night. Hangseng may have small rallies and market may remain highly volatile in the current situation. Bargain hunters may try to enter the market again and try their luck this time to see if they can really find bargain stocks at these prices. China mainland market may again play a part to determine if Hangseng can have a sustainable rally today. Hangseng may find its support at 13600ish and its resistance at 14300ish today.

Asian market preview 23/10/2008

2008-10-23T05:45:00.003+07:00

US markets fell sharply again last night and continued its downturn as investors' worries shifted from credit to health of corporate earnings and the future of economic growth. Markets fell more than 4% with S&P500 closed at its lowest level since April 2003. Corporate profit forecasts, a jump in the dollar and falling oil prices showed that investors are fearful that an economic slowdown will sweep the globe even if lending begins to approach normal levels. Investors are expecting quarterly corporate results to be weak and they are in panic mode so heavy selling is inevitable as analysts believed. Credit markets continued to show signs of easing but investors are more worried now about the current economic condition and how long will this slowdown last. However, analysts are still optimistic as trading volume was light last night compared to the heavy trading volumes in the past 2 weeks when markets plunged at record levels. Analysts said it is quite normal to see this kind of volatilities when the markets are recovering from heavy selling and when markets are searching for its real bottom. The Dow plunged 514.45 or 5.69% to 8,519.21, S&P500 fell 58.27 pts or 6.10% to 896.78 while Nasdaq fell 80.93 pts or 4.77% to 1,615.75.

Asian markets may open lower again today and may extend its decline on global economic worries. However, as markets reaching towards its lowest points formed just recently, bargain hunters may come in yet again to buy stocks at fire sale prices. Many analysts believed that global stock prices have become very cheap right now if they compare it to the Price/Earnings ratio. However, analysts also believed that whenever markets rally, it would only be a reason for investors to sell their holdings. Oil prices tumbled last night as dollar gained strength and as US stockpiles rose last week. Oil was recently traded around $67.55ish per barrel, gold traded around $726.60ish and JPY traded around 98.00ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 8200 in CME compared to the close of 8500 here yesterday.

Kospi may open lower again today and may continue its downward path as investors are desperate to sell their stocks and as foreigners also continued to do heavy sellings on Korean stocks. Gloomy economic outlook for South Korea and the weakening Won may contribute further selling in the Kospi. Kospi may find its support at 136ish and its resistance at 143ish today.

Hangseng may open lower today following the US' further downfall last night on global economic worries. Hangseng may be supported by better-than-expected earnings by Baidu and maybe some other companies. Low oil prices may also finally contribute to the local economic outlook and inflationary pressure to ease further which will leave room for government to take further measure to boost economy. Hangseng may find its support at 13200ish and its resistance at 14000ish today.

Asian market preview 22/10/2008

2008-10-22T05:19:00.003+07:00

US markets ended down last night on mixed earnings concern and investors took the opportunity to have some profit taking after a huge 400 pts rally the day before. Weak earnings report from Texas Instrument, Sun Microsystems, Freeport McMoran again caused investors to see gloomy outlook beyond Q4 and that sparked another sell-off in the US markets. However, analysts said that investors anxiety have lessened considerably compared with the past 2 weeks when fears took over the markets and battered stocks across the globe. Credit markets eased further in response to a sweeping series of bailout measures by world government, including a joint US and European plan to buy stakes in private banks to boost their lending. Right now, investors are watching the earnings front to gauge how bad the economy outlook is going to be while they're waiting for the bailout measures to work its way through the system. Until the credit market health turn to normal, markets will have these back and forth swings as analysts predicted. Among blue chips, DuPont Co. and Caterpillar both fell more than 5% on weaker earnings report and gloomy 2009 outlook. The Dow ended down by 231.77 pts or 2.50% to 9,033.66, S&P500 fell 30.35 pts or 3.08% to 955.05 while Nasdaq fell 73.35 pts or 4.14% to 1,696.68.

Asian markets may open lower today following another loss on Wall St last night. However, this time the losses on Wall St is not that significant compared to the past few weeks. Investors are more concerned about the earnings report and investors around Asia may also turn to its own local earnings report to find momentum for their markets. Governments worldwide have done whatever they can to help the credit system and investors have realized that it would take time for those measures to work. Crude oil prices fell overnight and was recently traded around $71.75ish per barrel, gold traded around $775.80ish and Nikkei futures was closed at 8980 in CME compared to the close of 9115 here yesterday.

Kospi may open lower today and may continue its downward path from yesterday if more gloomy earnings are to come out in South Korea. The weakening of Korean Won may again weigh on the stock market today. Investors may turn to local news and local earnings report to determine how far the market will continue its way downward or will it make another round of comeback today. Kospi may find its support at 150ish and its resistance at 155ish today.

Hangseng may open lower today following another round of selling in the US last night. Hangseng market may turn to China mainland markets for more news to determine market direction today. Government's plan to inject China's Agriculturual bank, more tax rebates for toymakers and textile exporters and also PetroChina's plan to expand may limit Hangseng's losses and may turn it to the upside. Hangseng may find its support at 14700ish and its resistance at 15300ish today.

Asian market preview 21/10/2008

2008-10-21T05:35:00.002+07:00

US markets soared last night and ended more than 3% higher for all major markets on more signs of a reviving credit market and comments from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke. Investors saw that the Libor rate (bank-to-bank lending rate) has eased further and this brought some calm to the markets which have been heavily sold the past few weeks. Meanwhile Ben Bernanke also hinted that the government will take more steps to help the economy. The market liked what Bernanke had to say and with credit easing slowly, market realized that it is going to be a process. Analysts believed that the steps taken by government finally have some impact on investors' sentiment and that the not-so-dismal start to the earnings season contributed to the rally in the markets. Last night, oilfield services provider, Halliburton Co. topped estimates and said that any macroeconomic problems will ultimately correct themselves. Still, there are still much fears in the market as demand for treasury bills is still quite high. Analysts also believed that according to past history, recovering markets will face further turmoil in price swings and may even test their lows yet again. The Dow ended up by 413.21 pts or 4.67% to 9,265.43, S&P500 rose 44.85 pts or 4.77% to 985.40 while Nasdaq rose 58.74 pts or 3.43% to 1,770.03.

Asian markets may open higher today following Wall St big rally last night on optimism that the credit market is finally easing and that more steps will be taken by the US to support the weakening economy. Markets may not be fully confident and reverse course but short-term rally may take place and may get supported if earnings reports from local companies also give reason for investors to buy. Oil prices rose last night and was recently traded around $75.69ish per barrel, gold traded around $798.50ish and JPY traded around 101.90ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 9360 in CME compared to the close of 9025 here yesterday.

Kospi may open higher today following more optimism from the US. However, with much uncertainties still linger around the air, the Kospi may not have a full rally and may have wild price swings like it did yesterday. Kospi touched its lowest price this year yesterday at 150.85 and although it may not go to that point again today, volatility will remain quite high. Investors' confidence may not be fully restored as the process in recovering the global economic condition is quite slow. Some melamine problems found in biscuits may give some pressure on the market as well. Kospi may find its resistance at 167ish and its support at 160ish today.

Hangseng may open higher today and may continue its rally from yesterday following more optimism from the US regarding the credit crisis. However, the rally may not be fully supported as lower-than-expected earnings from China Mobile may weigh on the market after it helped the market in previous session. The losses in Citic Pacific may also weigh on the market and the overall performance of Chinese mainland markets may determine Hangseng's movement today. Hangseng may find its resistance at 16200ish and its support at 15300ish today.

Asian market preview 20/10/2008

2008-10-20T03:28:00.003+07:00

US markets were closed just moderately lower on Friday as investors were cheered by signs of easing in the credit market and managed to absorb weak economic news. Volatility was still quite high and the expiration of Options contracts add to the swings in the markets. Analysts have believed that markets were way oversold in such a short time and now they feel that markets finally realized that governments all over the world are trying to do everything they can to stop this from happening, and now many investors are bargain hunting. Warren Buffet's encouragement to buy US equities also helped to boost stocks in early trade but gains were given back at the end of the session. In economic news, the government said that new home construction dropped by more than expected last month to the lowest pace since 1991. However, bad economic news have already been expected by investors and now they focussed on the credit market. Libor rate seemed to ease up a little bit and that cheered investors' mood on Friday. The Dow ended the session down by 127.04 pts or 1.41% to 8,852.22 but ended higher by 4.75% for the week. S&P500 lost 5.88 pts or 0.62% to 940.55 but ended higher by 4.6% for the week. Nasdaq fell 6.42 pts or 0.37% to 1,711.29 but ended the week higher by 3.75%.

Asian markets may open higher today and may continue its rebound after steep selloff on Thursday. The mild loss in the US on Friday may bring little impact compared to the heavy losses in the previous sessions this month. Some easing in the credit market may cheer investors' sentiment worldwide and may help global stock markets. The slight rebound in oil may also help energy companies around the region. Oil was recently traded around $71.85ish per barrel, gold traded around $787.70ish and JPY traded around 101.55ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 8730 in CME compared to the close of 8455 here on Friday.

Kospi may open higher today after the government announced that they will provide $100 billion guarantee for banks' foreign debts to ease dollar shortage. In addition, they will also supply $30 billion to local banks and exporters. Bargain hunting may also emerge after the market was hammered quite bad for the past 2 sessions, losing more than 12%. However, investors' confidence may not have been fully restored as there are still more uncertainties from the US and that investors are still nervous about the whole global economic outlook. Kospi may find its resistance at 165ish and its support at 158ish today.

Hangseng may open higher as losses in the US is quite mild on Friday compared to the previous sessions and investors may think that it is a positive sign with the credit market showed some signs of easing. Bargain hunting may emerge and may boost stock market today as Hangseng have been hammered pretty bad for the past 3 sessions, losing almost 15%. Analysts' view that the global markets were way oversold may also give some hope for investors to buy stocks and may boost market further. Hangseng may find its resistance 15300ish and may find its support at 14600ish today.

Asian market preview 17/10/2008

2008-10-17T05:01:00.003+07:00

US markets continued on its high volatility ways last night and this time markets were closed to the upside by more than 4%. Markets were trading much lower early in the session as more bad economic data pushed markets downward. Investors were initially cheered by a better-than-expected reading on consumer prices. CPI for September came in flat compared to the 0.1% decline in August and the core index rose by 0.1%. Meanwhile, first time claims for unemployment declined last week. The Labor Department said new claims fell 16,000 to 461,000, below the 475,000 anticipated by economists. Still, total unemployment still points to recession. From the Philadelphia Fed, it said that regional manufacturing conditions weakened in October. The bank's regional index came in at negative 37.5 compared with a positive 3.8 for September. The news followed word from The Fed that production at the nation's factories, mines and utilities plunged 2.8% last month. Analysts believe that the current high volatilities in the markets will continue for some time as investors are really anxious about the economy. The Dow ended up by 401.35 pts or 4.68% to 8,979.26, S&P500 rose 38.59 pts or 4.25% to 946.43 while Nasdaq rose 89.38 pts or 5.49% to 1,717.71.

Asian markets may open higher today following the jump for the US markets last night and may continue to follow the high volatility path like the US markets. Better-than-expected earnings from Google and IBM may help push tech stocks in the Asian region as well. Bad economic outlook may still weigh on the markets but bargain hunting may come in and buy the already heavily discounted stocks. Crude oil prices also fell to below $70 in US trading last night and was recently traded around $69.85ish per barrel, gold traded around $804.50ish and JPY traded around 101.32ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 8800 in CME compared to the close of 8575 here yesterday.

Kospi may open higher today and may get a nice rebound after steep losses yesterday to close at its lowest point of the year. Tech and chipmakers may get a boost today following better-than-expected earnings from Google and IBM in the US. The weakened Won may weigh the market though but bargain hunters may help lift the stock market today. Kospi may find its resistance at 165ish and its support at 160ish today.

Hangseng may open higher today after 2 days of heavy losses mounting to more than 12%. Bargain hunters may dominate the market as the bad economic news and figures seemed to have already been priced in. China mainland markets may also play a part to determine how the Hangseng market will perform. Low oil prices may finally play a part to boost stocks as oil went below $70, its lowest price for the past year. Hangseng may find its resistance at 16000ish and its support at 15200ish today.

Asian market preview 16/10/2008

2008-10-16T04:57:00.003+07:00

US markets plunged again last night amid new recession concerns and that the measures taken by governments will not heal the wounded economy straight away. All markets were down more than 7% as new data points to recession if not already here, is inevitable. The sell-off began after the governments reported that retail sales plunged by 1.2%, almost double the 0.7% predicted by analysts which made it clear that consumers are reluctant to spend amid a shaky economy. Then in the afternoon came the beige book which also offered similar views regarding the economy. The report found that the economy continued to slow as financial and credit market problems became worse. Analysts predicted that volatility will remain high in these uncertain times and as the governments have used almost all measures to help the economy, investors now have to wait to see how the actions will steady the economy. The Dow plunged 733.08 pts or 7.87% to 8,577.91, S&P500 fell 90.17 pts or 9.03% to 907.84 while Nasdaq fell 150.68 pts or 8.47% to 1,628.33.

Asian markets will open lower again today following the plunge in US markets last night as investors fear of recession. Markets around the region may be hit hard again and may visit this year's low, which was formed on 10th October again today as the fear of a prolonged global recession may make investors to hold cash instead of stocks right now. Crude oil prices also plunged overnight as fears of reduced demands make investors flee. Oil was recently traded around $73.50ish per barrel, gold traded around $845ish and JPY traded around 99.60ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 8500 in CME compared to the close of 9320 here yesterday.

Kospi may open lower again today as US markets plunged overnight and may continue its losses and may even visit this year's low again. Investors' confidence have been hit pretty hard the past month and with this growing fear of global recession, investors may run away to safety instead of holding stocks. Local corporate earnings may help or may even make things worse if earnings are bad. Kospi may find its support at 160ish and if it breached that level, it may find resistance at 155ish. It may find its resistance at 165ish today.

Hangseng may open lower today amid growing concerns of a global recession. Hangseng have plunged 5% yesterday and may extend its decline today as regional markets may put pressure on its movement. The Hong Kong government will take every measures to prevent Hong Kong to become affected by the crisis, but it cannot avoid global recession. Hangseng may find its support at 14500ish and its resistance at 15200ish today.

Asian market preview 15/10/2008

2008-10-15T05:23:00.002+07:00

US markets ended a relatively calm day with modest loss on profit taking after posted its biggest gains in history the day before. Financial stocks surged again last night as bargain hunters still buy into the already battered stocks. Investors remained nervous about the whole economic situation and the fears of global recession still become the theme for markets. Analysts have mixed opinion of whether or not we have reached the bottom. It seems that the government plan is beginning to work as banks are starting to become more willing to lend to one another as shown by the slight drop in Libor rate from 4.75% to 4.64%. In the US, Nasdaq was hit worst as investors are nervous, waiting for Intel's results. The Dow ended lower by 76.62 pts or 0.82% to 9,310.99, S&P500 fell 5.34 pts or 0.53% to 998.01 while Nasdaq fell 65.24 pts or 3.54% to 1,779.01.

Asian markets may open slightly lower following the profit taking session that took place in the US last night. Markets around the region may also have similar reaction as it has rallied big time for the past 2 days. Investors still remain cautious about the whole economic situation and they may want to wait further as more economic data to come out of the US this week. Markets may move with quite a high volatility today. Oil was recently traded around $78.87ish per barrel, gold traded around $842.10ish and JPY traded 102.04ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 9440 in CME last night compared to the close of 9660 here yesterday.

Kospi may open slightly lower today and profit taking may come in as investors want to lock in profits after recent big gains in the market. Chip makers may be boosted after Intel posted better-than-expected Q3 results and it seems that Intel is little affected by the whole financial crisis situation. Trading may be highly volatile as it has been for the past 2 weeks today as uncertainty still lingers. Kospi may find its support at 173ish and its resistance at 180ish today.

Hangseng may open lower today and may continue lower for a bit for some profit taking action. The drop in oil to below $80 per barrel may be a bonus to refiners and ease inflationary concerns but the outlook with the whole global economy is still gloomy. Analysts predicted that Hangseng will swing wildly within 5000 range for the next few months as investors are trying to find solid ground with the whole situation. Chinese mainland markets may also dominate how well Hangseng may perform today. Hangseng may find its support at 16500ish and its resistance at 17300ish today.

Asian market preview 14/10/2008

2008-10-14T05:11:00.002+07:00

US markets posted the biggest gains in history in terms of percentage and points term last night. Most markets soared up more than 11% after the government, along with other government globally guarantee bank deposits and buying stakes in banks directly. The Fed has also allowed to flood the global financial system with dollars. Investors are rushing back to stocks as it has been discounted significantly in the past week and news about the implementation of $700 billion package only added to the investors' optimism. Analysts believed that current levels is closer to the bottom but has not yet reached the very bottom. There are still a long road ahead before investors' confidence is fully restored as economic data is to come next in the coming days. The Dow soared 936.42 pts or 11.08% to 9,387.61, S&P500 soared 104.13 pts or 11.58% to 1,003.35 while Nasdaq rose 194.74 pts or 11.81% to 1,844.25.

Asian markets may open higher today following the biggest 1-day gainers by US markets overnight. Japanese markets may play catch up today after it was closed yesterday as regional markets rallied. Governments' plans to save banks globally may still have impact after the US also followed to guarantee bank deposits and to buy stakes in banks. Oil prices also soared as global rallies bring optimism to investors. Oil was recently traded around $81.19ish per barrel, gold traded around $842.50ish and JPY traded around 102.20ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 8990 in CME last night compared to the close of 7870 here on Friday and 8605 yesterday on a shortened trading session.

Kospi may open higher today and may add to yesterday's gains as the US markets posted a huge rally last night. Governments worldwide are trying to save banks and to get credit flowing again. Kospi may find its resistance at 180ish today and its support at 172ish.

Hangseng may open higher today and may add to yesterday's gains as US markets rallied the most in history on speculation that the governments' measures to save banks will finally unclog the frozen credit markets. However, yesterday Hangseng have risen more than 10%, it may not add as much today as there are also still some uncertainties linger on the air. Hangseng may find its resistance at 17200ish today and its support at 16500ish.

Asian market preview 13/09/2008

2008-10-11T09:20:00.003+07:00

US markets ended a very volatile day on Friday mixed With Nasdaq market ending mildly in positive territory. Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded the wildest swing ever with over 1000 points swing in the day. It started down almost 700 pts then rallied back up to gain more 100 pts before plunging back into negative territory. It spent most of the time down 300-500 pts before in the final hour, it rallied more than 700 pts and closed down 180 pts. Analysts believed that it was better than the previous 7 trading sessions and that investors are trying to bottom fish at current levels. Investors are taking chances ahead of the G-7 meeting to be held over the weekend to discuss the economic meltdown. Investors believed that one of the potential remedies is for governments to guarantee lending among banks. Within a week, The Dow have lost 18.2% and have lost 40.3% since hitting its highest peak a year ago. Analysts believe that trading will remain volatile in the next few weeks, but some brave long term investors are starting to enter the markets at current levels as nobody wants to miss markets' bottom. The Dow ended down by 128 pts or 1.49% to 8,451.49, S&P500 fell 10.70 pts or 1.18% to 899.22 while Nasdaq rose 4.39 pts or 0.27% to 1,649.51.

Asian markets may open mildly lower after losing so much percentage points on Friday. A mild 1%ish drop for US markets may means that markets around Asia may even starting to turn around and have a short-term rally. Depending on the outcome of the G-7 meeting, markets around Asia may even have quite a rally today. Oil prices also dropped on Friday to below $80 per barrel and marked the lowest price for a year. Lower oil prices means lower inflation for countries around Asia and that may give further boost to the stock markets. Oil was recently traded around $77.70ish per barrel, gold traded around $859ish and JPY traded around 100.50ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 8120 in CME compared to the close of 7870 here on Friday. Nikkei will be closed today for holidays.

Kospi may open rather flat today and may go up today following the modest drop in the US. The markets have been heavily oversold in the past week and bargain hunters may start to come in and starts buying stocks for long term. Many analysts have already pushed their investors by saying that it is the best time to enter into the stock market at any time since markets were coming down way too fast and governments around the world are working tirelessly to find a solution to the current situation. However, market may still be very volatile like Friday's session where Kospi was down 9% at one point before rebounding up to close lower by 4%. Kospi may find its support at 160ish today and its resistance at 167ish.

Hangseng may open rather flat with upward bias today following the mild drop in the US and after investors showed some kind of enthusiasm to buy stocks again. Many analysts believe that the bottom is near and a rebound is due to happen anytime soon. Long term investors may want to start early and may start buying stocks at current level. Lower oil prices may also help to boost markets in Hong Kong and China. Howecer, China mainland markets may also play a significant part to determine whether Hangseng will have a huge rally or will it be stopped halfway and go back down again. Hangseng may find its support at 14700ish and its resistance at 15700ish today.

Asian market preview 10/10/2008

2008-10-10T05:24:00.002+07:00

US markets tumbled for the 7th straight session, posting its lowest close in 5 years on the anniversary when the markets hit its highest point just one year ago. Markets plunged in the final hour of trading, after S&P ratings services put GM and its finance affiliate GMAC LLC under review to see if its rating should be cut. GM has been struggling with weak car sales in North America. S&P also put Ford Motor Co. on credit watch negative. Credit markets are still frozen despite a combined efforts by central banks worldwide to cut interest rates to stimulate investors' confidence. Libor, tha bank-to-bank lending rate remains stubbornly high, rose to 4.75% from 4.52% on Wednesday and until that starts to come down, it will be hard to get investors excited about stocks again. Almost 3000 stocks fell on NYSE and less than 250 advanced. The Dow plunged 678.91 pts or 7.3% to 8579.19, S&P500 fell 75.02 pts or 7.6% to 909.92 while Nasdaq fell 95.21 pts or 5.5% to 1,645.12. Analysts believe that the markets are way oversold but has yet to determine its real bottom now.

Asian markets may open lower yet again today and may come under pressure again as selling and fears gripped markets worldwide. Most investors are choosing to get out of stocks at any price as more uncertainty looms in the fate of global economy. Oil prices also fell as investors predict weaker demand in this kind of sluggish economic conditions. Gold price meanwhile is predicted to go back beyond $1000 per troy ounce and may even go towards $2000 within the next year as some analysts believe. Oil was recently traded around $84.90ish per barrel, gold traded around $918ish and JPY traded around $99.50ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 8620 in CME compared to the close of 9300 here yesterday.

Kospi may open lower today after staging a slight recovery rally yesterday on new found optimism over coordinated global rate cuts. However, investors are still nervous and may be in fear yet again today following another massive sell-off in the US last night. Kospi may even fall below 160 mark today if investors are afraid enough and do not want to hold stocks over the weekend. Kospi may find its support at160ish today and its next support may be at 157ish while its resistance at 167ish.

Hangseng may open lower today and may fall after staging more than 3% rally yesterday on global rate cuts optimism. Hangseng may fall below the 15000 mark today and may even test the 14700 levels. Chinese markets may also determine whether Hangseng will fall more deeply or it can contain the freefall for Hangseng. Hangseng may find its support at 14700ish and its resistance at 15500ish today.

Asian market preview 09/10/2008

2008-10-09T05:44:00.004+07:00

US markets tumbled for the sixth straight session after an emergency rate cut failed to sustain markets' rally during the morning session. Markets initially rallied up after The Fed joined ECB, BOE, Bank of Canada, Swedish Riksbank and the Swiss National Bank to cut interest rate in an unprecedented move to battle credit freeze. After a while, markets zig-zagged in and out of positive and negative territory before finally gave up its gains in the final 30 minutes after Henry Paulson's comments stating that it could take weeks before the $700 billion bill starts to buy troubled mortgage-backed assets from banks. Global recession fears around the world have sent global markets tumbled down for the past week and yesterday alone, some markets lost over 10% and was shut down early. It is hard to determine the real bottom in this situation, although as we see, stocks are generally at bargain prices at these levels. Investors' confidence have to be restored before any stock markets rally can be sustained. Meanwhile, troubled insurance giant AIG will be granted an additional $37.8 billion in additional liquidity from New York Fed. Earning season have started too in the US and Alcoa gave a lower-than-expected profit while IBM's early report stated that it beat expectations. The Dow ended lower by 189.01 pts or 2% to 9,258.10, S&P500 fell 11.29 pts or 1.13% to 984.94 while Nasdaq fell 14.55 pts or 0.83% to 1,740.33.

Asian markets may open lower again today, but may limit its losses after mounting several heavy losses for the past week. The combined rate cut efforts performed by central banks worldwide may help give some comfort to investors and may breathe life to the stock markets around Asia today. However, volatility may still be very high as investors are still very much concerns regarding the overall global economic outlook. More steps are being arranged by central banks around the world to unclog the credit market so that banks would want to lend money more freely. Oil prices also dropped overnight, it is recently traded around $88.81ish per barrel and it eases inflation concerns around the world. Gold was recently traded around $907.50ish as investors seek have haven. JPY was recently traded around 99.50ish and Nikkei futures was closed at 9200 in CME compared to the close of 9165 here yesterday.

Kospi may open lower today but may turn to the upside following the rate cuts peformed by central banks worldwide last night. Some bargain hunting may also emerge if there's enough positive news around Asia to fuel a stock market rally today. Volatility may still be high today as investors are still very much fearful regarding the uncertainty of global economy but generally, Kospi have performed slightly better than other markets. Kospi may find its resistance around 170ish and its support at 160ish today.

Hangseng may open slightly higher and may perform a rally today after Hong Kong's central bank announced that they will cut interest rate by 100 bps today. The combined rate cuts peformed last night may also give reasons for investors to buy the already cheap stocks today. Technically, markets around the region are bound for a rebound, it's just a matter of time when will investors be confident enough to buy stocks and sustain markets' rally. Chinese markets may also set to rebound today after Chinese bank announced that it will start slashing rates to stimulate more growth to the economy. Hangseng may find its support at 14700 and its resistance at 16000ish today.

Indonesian stock market was closed early yesterday after it plunved more than 10% to its lowest close this year at 1,451.67. Market may find some life today if regional markets are strong enough to sustain a rally fueled by emergency rate cuts around the world. However, as investors' confidence have been hurt badly in recent days, market may still get heavy selling pressures. IHSG will still be closed today as market's officials are trying to determine when to open up the market again. If market is open today, it may find support at 1,400ish and resistance at 1,470ish today.

Asian market preview 02/10/2008

2008-10-02T05:58:00.002+07:00

US markets ended a relatively quiet day moderately lower last night as investors are waiting nervously for the senate vote on the new revised $700 billion bailout plan. The Dow initially lost more than 200 points in early morning trade but managed to recoup most of its losses as the bailout plan seems likely to pass the senate and house votes. Meanwhile on economic data, the Institute for Supply Management revealed a troubling drop in new orders. The Index of manufacturing activity fell to 43.5 in September from 49.9 in August and analysts have expected a reading of 49.5. Auto sales in the US also fell 27% as consumers curb spending on luxury items. The bailout plan which includes lots of 'sweeteners' such as tax breaks for businesses and the middle class, a provision to raise the cap on federal deposit insurance from $100,000 to $250,000 and other bits of new stuffs to win over the senate and house votes, is actually heading for a senate win on Wednesday night US time. Most people believe that with the win for the bill, it will unfreeze the credit market and banks would want to lend to each other again and businesses will also get the funds they needed for daily operations. The Dow ended down by 19.59 pts or 0.18% to 10,831.07, S&P500 lost 5.30 pts or 0.45% to 1,161.06 while Nasdaq fell 22.48 pts or 1.07% to 2,069.40.

Asian markets may open flat with tendencies to go higher today as the revised plan seem to be able to win senate votes and most likely to win over the house on Friday. The US government really think that they need to do something and the addition of 'sweeteners' on the bailout plan showed how serious they are to get the bill passed. Crude oil meanwhile fell last night as US inventories showed a surprise increase in supplies. Oil was recently traded around $98.84ish per barrel, gold traded around $876.80ish and JPY traded around 106.05ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 11580 in CME compared to the close of 11500 here yesterday.

Kospi may open rather flat with higher bias today following the optimism that the new, revised bailout plan will go through senate and get the required house votes. Kospi will be closed on Friday and if optimism flow enough among investors today, it may perform like Hangseng did on Tuesday as stocks rose in anticipation that the bailout plan will be successful. Kospi ended down yesterday as investors did not show the enthusiasm as they're still waiting for the revised bailout plan. Kospi may find its resistance at 193ish and its support at 185ish today.

Hangseng may open slightly lower but it depends on how the bailout plan perform in the senate floor today. By the time Hangseng open, the votes in the US senate will be over and that may determine the market's direction for today. Hangseng was closed yesterday for holiday and may continue its rally today if the senate are fully in favor of the plan and if it showed that the house will vote YES on the plan. Hangseng may find its resistance at 20000ish and its support at 18700ish today. China mainland markets are still closed today for a week long holiday.

Asian market preview 01/10/2008

2008-10-01T04:40:00.003+07:00

US markets soared higher last night after the biggest ever point drop for the Dow the day before. Investors came back into the markets as President Bush and top congress members and lawmakers vowed that they will revive the $700 billion bailout plan and will get an approval from the House Congress on Thursday. The bailout plan was surprisingly rejected yesterday as Congresmen think that the plan would not be able to jump start the economy. House members were flooded with phone calls after the rejection of the bailout plan, this time calling them to support for it or at least passes something in order to help with the economy. The cost of borrowing Dollar overnight increase the most after the defeat of the bailout plan. LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) for 3-month dollar loans rose to 4.05% from 3.88% on Monday while LIBOR for 3-month euro loans rose to 5.27% from 5.22% on Monday. Banks are making it harder for people to borrow money and even qualified potential home owners are finding it hard to get home loans. On other news, Wall St was cheered by several economic readings where Consumer Confidence Index rose to 59.8 from 58.5 in August and better from a predicted reading of 55.5. Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 56.7 compared to 57.9 in August. The soaring markets last night wasn't unexpected as yesterday was the last trading day of the quarter and portfolio managers are trying to make their portfolios look better. However, investors are still very nervous about the frozen credit market. The Dow soared 485.21 pts or 4.68% to 10,850.66, S&P500 rose 58.35 pts or 5.27% to 1,164.74 while Nasdaq rose 98.60 pts or 4.97% to 2,082.33.

Asian markets may open higher today following the partial recovery on Wall St last night on speculation that the lawmakers are trying to do something to salvage the $700 billion bailout plan. Most Asian markets were trimming their losses yesterday after opening losing more than 5% for most markets. Markets may find some relief and bargain hunting may kick in today for Asian markets as they may find new optimism that lawmakers in US are working extra hard to get the bailout plan approved. Crude oil prices also bounced back last night and was recently traded around $100.60ish per barrel, gold traded around $880.80ish and JPY traded around 106ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 11680 in CME compared to the close of 11425 here yesterday.

Kospi may open higher today following yesterday's decline after the failure of the $700 billion bailout plan in the US. Kospi have recovered much of its losses yesterday where the market was closed losing only around 0.7% after opening down more than 5%. The temporary ban on short selling may give market more reason to buy today on top of new speculation that US lawmakers will eventually pass something. Kospi may find its resistance at around 195ish today and its support at around 188ish.

Hangseng is closed today for public holiday. The market recovered all of its early morning loss yesterday to close up 0.76%.

Asian market preview 30/09/2008

2008-09-30T05:12:00.002+07:00

US markets tumbled last night as bailout plan was rejected in congress. The Dow posted the biggest one-day drop ever, losing almost 780 pts. S&P500 and Nasdaq's percentage points drop was even bigger. Many traders have believed that it would take months for the plan to have its effect, but they also believe that it would be the first step to move forward to give some boost for the faltering economy. The bailout plan was unpopular in the first place and it would take great efforts to get approved by the congress. Shortly after the plan was rejected, US treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, vowed that he will work with congressional leaders to develop other way to help the sagging economy. The rejection of the bailout plan came after Commerce Department said that consumer spending fell in August to its lowest level in six months, while analysts expected it to rise slightly. The selling in NYSE was so intense that only 162 stocks rose and 3,073 stocks fell after the news of the bailout plan was rejected. Investors are fearing that the credit market will freeze up and the economy will continue to falter as all parties are afraid to lend money to each other. Meanwhile, oil prices tumbled more than $10 and other commodities prices also fell while gold rose as much as $23 during the US trading session. The Dow fell 777.68 pts or 6.98% to 10,365.45, S&P500 fell 106.85 pts or 8.81% to 1,106.42 while Nasdaq fell 199.61 pts or 9.14% to 1,983.73. With these losses, stocks value was decreased by around $1 trillion.

Asian markets are set to open lower today following the failure of the $700 billion bailout plan in the US overnight. Investors, some of whom have decided to sell off their holdings yesterday, may continue to sell off their stocks today as more uncertainty looms regarding the US financial system and its widespread effect across the globe. It would take great efforts by the US government to come up with a better plan and convince congress to give them some support. Investors will need confidence boost to start investing in the stock market again. Oil was recently traded at around $96.10ish per barrel, gold traded around $905.35ish and JPY traded around 103.77ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 10260 in CME compared to the close of 10640 here yesterday.

Kospi may open lower today following the failure of the bailout plan in US' congress last night. Investors may sell off their stocks and foreigners may take their investments from the South Korean market and prefer to hold cash in these uncertain times. Chipmakers may also get hit pretty bad after Apple and some other tech names in the US were downgraded last night. The only glimmer of light today for Korean market is the low oil price which may give some very slight support and hope for investors. Kospi may find its support at 170ish today and its resistance at around 177ish.

Hangseng may open lower today following the failure of the bailout plan in the US overnight and the selloff yesterday may intensify today. With property sector unable to lend support to the market, the only hope lies on the low oil prices which may give oil refiners some boost today. Investors will continue to wait on the sidelines for more news from the US and what other plan the US government can come up with. China mainland markets will remain closed today for national day holiday. Hangseng may find its support at 16000ish and its resistance at 17000ish today.

Asian market preview 29/09/2008

2008-09-28T22:13:00.002+07:00

US markets were ended mixed on Friday as investors remained cautious after the $700 billion bailout proposals raised some doubts from Republican lawmakers. Investors were nervous and most of them were just waiting to see what will happen over the weekend. Big financial companies rose to lift the Dow while smaller financial companies were getting hit. Tech sector was also getting hammered after RIMM warned that its gross margins would contract for this quarter because of the costs of producing 3 new blackberry models. The market was also uneasy after Washington Mutual Inc. became the largest US bank to fail and was seized by FDIC before it was sold to JPMorgan for $1.9 billion. However, investors took some comfort as JPMorgan's decision to buy WaMu was considered to be good decision. Oil prices also declined as investors were uneasy about the outcome of the $700 billion bailout plan. Light, sweet crude fell $1.13 to settle at $106.89 per barrel. The Dow ended up by 121.07 pts or 1.10% to 11,143.13, S&P500 rose 3.83 pts or 0.32% to 1,213.01 while Nasdaq fell 3.23 pts or 0.15% to 2,183.34. Over the weekend, it seemed that lawmakers and Bush administration have finally came out with a deal and the $700 billion bailout proposals seems good. This may bring calm to the market and may give a short term rally ahead for Wall St and Global stock markets.

Asian markets may open higher following the news over the weekend that Congress and the Bush Administration have finally agreed on the terms for $700 billion bailout plans. More details still needed to be done but the idea was generally accepted by everyone and they're now waiting for the bill to be passed. President Bush called lawmakers and congressmen to rise to the occassion as failure to do so may bring more calamity to the wider economy. Crude oil was recently traded around $106.89ish per barrel, gold traded around $888.50ish and JPY traded around 106ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 12120 in CME on Friday compared to the close of 11910 here on Friday.

Kospi may open the day and start the week higher on investors' newfound optimism that the US government have finally agreed on the $700 billion bailout plan. The US government is basically going to buy all the toxic assets that are clogging the financial markets including bad mortgages and then it would later sell it again when the time is right. However, with the general idea finally gets accepted by congressmen, this will raise further question of whether $700 billion is enough to revive the whole economy and help America to avoid a great recession. Kospi may find its resistance at around 200ish today if investors are optimist and bullish enough and may find its support at around 195ish.

Hangseng may start the day higher with the news that US government have finally agreed on the bailout plan over the weekend. Hangseng was sold off on Friday as investors chose to exit and wait on the sidelines following the uncertainty on the US' bailout plan. However, with the plan now in place, Hangseng may find new energy to rally up today and may breach 20000 mark if investors are optimist enough. However, the contaminated dairy product scandal which have risen in China may hurt stocks as more and more dairy products like Oreo and M&Ms being taken off from public consumptions. China mainland market may also determine how high Hangseng will rise today. Hangseng may find its resistance at 20000ish and its support at 18900ish today.

Asian market preview 24/09/2008

2008-09-24T05:21:00.003+07:00

US markets fell again last night and set the steepest 2-day decline since 2002 after losing more than 3% a day earlier on concerns regarding the $700B bailout plans. The US congress were questioning whether the $700B bailout is necessary and if it is, whether that $700B of taxpayers' money will help steer the economy around. The market seemed uncertain about how long it will take for the bailout plans to take effect while Fed chairman, Bernanke, told the Senate Banking Committe Congress risks triggering a recession if it doesn't act on the plan. He said that inaction could leave a range of businesses unable to borrow money while consumers could find it impossible to finance big purchases like cars and homes as banks are reluctant to give credits. Analysts believe that volatility will remains for some time even after the bailout package passes because of global economic slowdown which is going to have some impact on earnings. The Dow fell 161.52 pts or 1.47% to 10,854.17, S&P500 fell 18.87 pts or 1.56% to 1,188.22 while Nasdaq fell 25.67 pts or 1.18% to 2,153.34.

Asian markets may open lower again today following more concerns regarding the US bailout plans for the financial system. Most Asian markets were lower yesterday on this bailout concerns and may extend their losses today. Oil prices meanwhile were lower on profit taking and as the Dollar regained some grounds last night. Oil was recently traded around $107.03ish per barrel, gold traded around $892ish and JPY traded around 105.71ish. Nikkei futures were closed at 11750 at CME compared to the close of 12045 on Monday. Nikkei may play catch up with the rest of the regional markets after it was closed yesterday for a public holiday.

Kospi may open lower today following more concerns regarding the $700B bailout plans and its effectiveness. Yesterday, Kospi started lower but ended the day higher as investors shrugged off concerns from the US and focussed on the local market. The news that Warren Buffett is buying Goldman Sachs may give some boost to regional markets. Kospi may find its support at 190ish today and its resistance at 197ish.

Hangseng may open lower again today following more uncertainties from the US. Hangseng was heavily sold yesterday, losing almost 4%. Selling was intensified in the afternoon session as investors feared that market will be closed today due to another typhoon incoming. China mainland markets may again play a part in determining how the Hangseng market will be performing today if the market is open. Hangseng may find its support at 18700ish today and its resistance at 19500ish.

Asian market preview 23/09/2008

2008-09-23T05:30:00.002+07:00

US markets tumbled yet again last night as fears returned to the markets as investors waiting nervously for the "mother of all bailout" package details. Oil and gold also soared as investors sought safe haven to invest other than the volatile stock markets. Investors may become more nervous if there isn't enough progress being made. Meanwhile, further reshaping of the US financial system appeared on Monday as Morgan Stanley plans to sell 20% of its stake to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. Oil soared more than $25 per barrel at one point and was settled up by $16.37 to $120.92 as investors snapped up supplies to cover October contract, which expired at the end of Monday session. Gold rose $40.30 to settle at $909 an ounce as dollar fell against major currencies. The Dow ended down by 372.75 pts or 3.27% to 11,015.69, S&P500 fell 47.99 pts or 3.82% to 1,207.09 while Nasdaq fell 94.92 pts or 4.17% to 2,178.98.

Asian markets may open lower today and end the 2-day winning streak since Friday as investors grew nervous on the bailout plan in the US. Oil's rally may also weigh on the market as inflation fears may creep back into some of the emerging markets. However, for countries like Indonesia, where the market is dominated by commodity players, this may give good sign for market to extend its rally. Oil was recently traded at $109.10ish per barrel, gold traded around $907.30ish and JPY traded around 105.45ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 11820 in CME compared to the close of 12060 here yesterday. Nikkei is closed for public holiday today.

Kospi may open lower today as fears crept back into the US markets last night. Investors are waiting anxiously for more news regarding the bailout plans and as oil crept back up, investors in Korea may also be weighed by rising energy prices. Kospi may find its support at 185ish and its resistance at 190ish today.

Hangseng may open lower after posting a huge 2-day gains since Friday. Weak sentiment from the US may weigh on the market and the global economic outlook is still uncertain. Chinese markets may play a part in determining the market's direction today. China mainland markets have rose more than 15% in the past 2 sessions and analysts predicted that it's bound to have a profit taking session soon if not today. Hangseng may find its support at 18700ish today and its resistance at 19300ish.

Asian market preview 22/03/2008

2008-09-22T04:57:00.002+07:00

US markets soared for 2nd day on Friday on optimism that the government is doing everything they can to bring calm to the financial markets. Wall St however, still remains cautious as how far the government is willing to do to help the market. The Bush administration came up with a proposal on Saturday to get a $700B bailout package to the congress and hoped that it will get approval soon to help the markets. The package is viewed as needed by many economists but it brings about debatable points by some. Some economists and investors think that the package is quite "unfair" as it only helps to shield rich people to lose some of their money by making bad bets in the financial markets while it doesn't protect those taxpayers who owned homes and are about to get evicted cause they can't pay the debts to the lenders. Another step taken by the US government was to ban short-selling of 799 financial stocks for 2 weeks to help stabilize the markets. This step was indeed quite effective as investors rushed to switch their positions.

Asian markets may open higher today and may extend the global rally sparked by US governement's plans to bailout the troubled financial markets. Investors have found new optimism in the global financial markets and with the short-selling bans imposed, there are no other way but up. However, investors are still nervous with the bailout plans made by the US. Investors still think that the $700B rescue plan may not be enough to fully sustain the credit crisis fallout. Meanwhile, oil prices and gold prices rose too as investors still seek safe haven in a more conservative trading. Oil was recently traded around $104.55ish per barrel, gold traded around $874ish and JPY traded around 106.80ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 12440 in CME compared to the close of 12130 here on Friday.

Kospi may open higher today after the US markets staged the biggest 2-day rally on Thursday and Friday on government rescue plans. Now, with the $700B rescue plan the government is planning on, Kospi may get a boost further with the already oversold market. However, with as the rally on Friday already been so high, investors may still be quite nervous to make further big bets on the market. Today's rally may not be as much as Friday's and those nervous investors may pull some of their winnings back from the market as the situation is still quite uncertain. Kospi may find its support at 190ish and its resistance at 197ish.

Hangseng may open higher yet again today and may rise further as optimism grew in the US. China markets may determine if Hangseng will rise further on top of the 10% one day rally on Friday. Jittery investors may take some of their winnings off the table today and that may cause Hangseng to slowdown a bit after staging a late recovery on Thursday and a very huge gain on Friday. Hangseng may find its support at 19300ish and its resistance at 19800ish today.

Asian market preview 19/09/2008

2008-09-19T05:14:00.002+07:00

US markets soared last night and posted its best day in 6 years after news that the government is preparing a more comprehensive solution to the financial crisis sparked a furious late rally in the day. The CNBC reported that the government might create an entity to absorb banks' bad debt. It is more like a vehicle similar to the Resolution Trust Corp. formed in the crisis in the late 1980s and the news cheered investors as it showed that the government is doing everything they can to stabilize the financial system. The Fed also added another $55 billion in overnight loans on Thursday. Fears in the market have also led big financial institutions such as Washington Mutual and Morgan Stanley to rush to make a deal and in the process of combining with other banks. Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc. are reported to be interested in the takeover of Washington Mutual while Morgan Stanley and Wachovia Corp. are in talks of a possible merger. Gold and Oil again become targets for safe-haven buying by investors as gold rose $50.20 to $900.70 an ounce. Oil has also rose above $100 before it went back down to settle at $97.88 per barrel. Meanwhile, the labor department reported that initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 10,000 last week to 455,000 due to Louisiana's job losses from Hurricane Gustav. The Philadelphia Fed said that its regional manufacturing report improved 3.8 in September from a negative 12.7 in August and mark the first positive reading since November. The Dow shot up 410.03 pts or 3.86% to 11,019.69, S&P500 rose 50.12 pts or 4.33% to 1,206.51 while Nasdaq rose 100.25 pts or 4.78% to 2,199.10.

Asian markets may open higher today as newfound optimism caused Wall St to rally overnight. With the news that US government will provide some sort of vehicle for bad debt, investors may be confident enough to buy stocks and hold a rally for a few days now. Stocks have been previously battered so bad that analysts believe that now it's a good time to buy stocks as prices are already "cheap". The joint effort by central banks worldwide to inject as much as $180 billion into global money markets may also cheer investors. Markets around the region are expected to post big gains like that of Wednesday but this time, hopefully the rally will last. Commodity companies may also be benefited as oil continue to rise last night and also as gold rose yet again on safe-haven buying buy investors. Oil was recently traded around $98.30ish per barrel, gold traded around $860.60ish and JPY traded around 105.65ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 11760 in CME last night compared to the close of 11555 here yesterday.

Kospi may open higher today following the rally staged by Wall St on the much needed relief news given by the US government. With new-found optimism in the market, investors may rush into stocks to buy stocks at the now already bargain prices. Bargain hunters may lead the way and push stocks higher today. With oil holding steady below $100 per barrel and gold still rushed higher, it may be a good sign and boost the market further. Kospi did not get the chance to react as the news of global central banks plans to inject $180 billion into global money system came after Kospi was closed yesterday. Kospi may find its support at 182ish today and its resistance at 190ish.

Hangseng may open higher today after staging a late recovery yesterday in an exceptionally hectic session. Yesterday, Hangseng was down as much as 7.7% at one point before it staged a 2nd session recovery to close flat. Volatility was very high as investors rushed to buy bargain stocks after the news about global central banks' joint effort to pump money. However, the rally may also be halted if China mainland markets still show some negativity. Investors are still quite nervous after their confidence was being tested to the limit with failures after failures of giant financial companies. Hangseng may find its resistance at 18500ish today and its support at 17900ish today.

Asian market preview 18/09/2008

2008-09-18T04:35:00.003+07:00

US markets tumbled yet again last night, with Dow sank more than 450 pts on concerns that more financial institutions may be in trouble. Investors' confidence were hit hard and The Fed's action to rescue AIG was seen as not so positive move after all. Investors thought that with The Fed lending $85 billion to AIG, it means that no other independent companies that can come up with that much amount of cash to help bailout the insurance giant. Trust is also becoming an issue on Wall St last night as AIG used to say that they are OK along with anybody else and now one by one, the financial institutions start to collapse. Commodity sector became a target for safe-haven buying as investors divert their money to oil, gold and short-term treasurys. Gold rose as much as $90.40 or 11.6% to $870.90 an ounce in after-hours trading while oil rebounded $6.01 to settle at $97.16 per barrel. The Dow lost 449.36 pts or 4.06% to 10,609.66, S&P500 plunged 57.21 pts or 4.71% to 1,156.39 while Nasdaq fell 109.05 pts or 4.94% to 2,098.85.

Asian markets may open lower and may plunge again today after staging a moderate rebound yesterday. More worries from Wall St's financial system may grip investors and may cause more worries for banks around the region. Asian banks which have exposure to institutions in the US may be in tight spot as investors' confidence starts to fade away. The sector which may shine today is commodity sector as oil and gold prices rally last night. Oil was recently traded around $97ish per barrel, gold traded around $863.90ish and JPY traded around 104.38ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 11320 in CME last night compared to the close of 11650 here yesterday.

Kospi may open lower today, erasing yesterday's gains and may go down further. Kospi may test this year's lowest point and if it can break that, it may go down even further as confidence fade away for foreign and local investors. With oil price rebounded, commodity sector may get a boost but other sector like airlines may be hit hard as investors lock in profit after recent gains as oil prices dropped. Kospi may find its strong support at 175ish and may find its resistance at 182ish today.

Hangseng may open lower yet again today and may continue its way south after plunging more than 3% yesterday on more worries about banks' exposure to US' counterparts. Hangseng may test the 17000 level and may even break that level if investors are really panicking right now and as investors' confidence fade away. With oil prices rising, inflation fears may creep back in although oil still stayed below $100 per barrel. Airlines and travel sector may be hit further as oil rose while CNOOC and PetroChina may rise. Hangseng may find its strong support at 16500ish today and its resistance at 17300ish.

Asian market preview 16/09/2008

2008-09-16T04:57:00.002+07:00

US markets tumbled the most since 2001's terrorist attacks last night, losing more than 500 pts as investors recoiled as Lehman Brothers Inc. filed for bankcruptcy and after a forced sale of Merril Lynch to Bank of America. While the 2 companies have reached some kind of resolution, investors are now focused on other financial institutions such as AIG, which is seeking funding to shore up its balance sheet. The Fed is urging other financial giants such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan to raise money of up to $75 billion to help AIG. Investors have become scared and panic selling was seen across the markets in the US as the stability of the financial systems is being questioned. Investors are also waiting for The Fed's decision on interest rates which is due later on tonight and investors are expecting that The Fed might show some signs that they're ready to cut rates further. On the commodity sector, oil also tumbled $5.47 to $95.71 per barrel on renewed concerns that the demand is slowing significantly. The Dow plunged 504.48 pts or 4.42% to 10,917.51, S&P500 fell 59.00 pts or 4.71% to 1,192.70 while Nasdaq fell 81.36 pts or 3.60% to 2,179.91.

Asian markets are bracing for hefty losses today following the bankcruptcy of Lehman Brothers and after Merril Lynch was swallowed by Bank of America. The troubles in AIG may also add to the worry for investors here as a lot of banks and institutions are exposed to AIG and also Lehman Brothers. The tumble in commodity sector may also hurt commodity players here in Asia and countries like Indonesia may suffer further as its market is being driven by commodity-related companies. With major Asian merkets closed yesterday, they may play catch up to Wall St and may suffer more losses. Oil was recently traded around $94.27ish per barrel, gold traded around $790.50ish and JPY traded around 104.22ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 11740 in CNE compared to the close of 12220 here on Friday.

Kospi may open lower today and may test this year's low on Lehman's demise. The exposure on Lehman Brothers for Korean banks also may weigh on the market today. Losses may be accelerated if investors decided to take their money off stocks on worries that the financial system in the US may be unstable and may spread off to the rest of the world.

Hangseng may open lower today following other markets as Lehman Brothers filed for bankcruptcy and also more worries for AIG. The tumble in commodity prices may also weigh on commodity producers in Hong Kong such as Sinopec and CNOOC. The only consolation found in today's market may be the interest rate cut by the PBOC in China. Hangseng may find its support at 18000 and its resistance at 18700 today.

Asian market preview 12/09/2008

2008-09-12T05:25:00.002+07:00

US markets staged quite a big rally last night despite more Lehman worries still linger around the market. Bargain hunters bought financial's stronger players and also materials and transport sectors. The falling crude prices also helped investors to go into buying mode in Wall St. JPMorgan, Wells Fargo & Co. and Washington Mutual are the names that investors think their stocks are at bargain prices and investors were collecting their stocks. However, concerns regarding the broader economy still lingers as Labor Department reported that people seeking jobless benefit dropped 6,000 last week to 445,000 while analysts predicted a reading of 440,000. The Commerce Department also said that the nation's trade deficit jumped in July to the highest level in 16 months as oil imports set new highs which offset strong export growth, but since then, oil have fallen about 30% from its peak and investors are expecting better trade deficit in the coming months. Crude oil fell $1.71 to settle at $100.87 per barrel and helped investor to buy more stocks as optimism build slightly that inflation would tame. The Dow finished higher by 164.79 pts or 1.46% to 11,433.71, S&P500 rose 17.01 pts or 1.38% to 1,249.05 while Nasdaq rose 29.52 pts or 1.32% to 2,258.22.

Asian markets may open higher today following the stronger close on Wall St last night and as oil prices drop, hopefully investors will get slight optimism to buy into stocks. Talks that Bank of America might be helping and buy Lehman Brothers may also be taken as positive news by investors and may finally give reason to buy into financials as well. Commodity-related companies may continue be battered today as gold price slide to below $750. Oil was recently traded around $101.40ish per barrel, gold traded around $752.60ish and JPY traded around 106.95ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 12210 in CME compared to the close of 11985 here yesterday.

Kospi may open higher today following the stronger close on Wall St which may spark buying interest for investors locally. The gain in US$ may give boost for exporters but the falling commodity prices may also limit its gains today. Bargain hunters may kick in and start collecting stocks that have been battered quite badly for the past few days. Kospi has been showing some resilience as it didn't drop as much as other markets like Nikkei and Hangseng. Kospi may find its support at 188 and its resistance at 195ish today.

Hangseng may open higher today following the stronger close on Wall St and after the markets have been battered badly for the past 2 days. Bargain hunters may come in and buy cheap stocks but gains may be limited if investors are still worried about Chinese giants such as China Mobile. Commodity related companies may be hit again today. PetroChina and CNOOC may also get hit again as oil prices fell. However, lower oil prices may benefit the market in long term as inflation tame and central banks around the world can focus on economic recovery. Hangseng may find its support at 19200ish and its resistance at 20000 today.

Asian market preview 11/09/2008

2008-09-11T04:56:00.003+07:00

US markets ended moderately higher last night as Wall St mulls Lehman plans and after investors bought energy, materials and consumer-staple stocks which have been battered badly the previous session. Lehman Brothers reported the biggest loss in its 158-year history, posting $3.9 billion Q3 loss on $5.6 billion of writedowns, worse than the $2.2 billion loss predicted by analysts. The company then said that it plans to sell a majority stake in its investment management business and spin off its troubled mortgage assets and its shares dropped another 6.9% on top of 45% drop in the previous session. Bargain hunters dominated the markets last night as they bought energy names and defensive stocks like consumer staples which have dropped to a fairly cheap price. Oil prices fell again as indications of a weakening economy overshadowed OPEC's decision to cut production. Light sweet crude fell 68 cents to settle at $102.58 per barrel. The Dow ended up 38.19 pts or 0.34% to 11,268.92 in a very volatile session. S&P500 rose 7.53 pts or 0.61% to 1,232.04 while Nasdaq rose 18.89 pts or 0.85% to 2,228.70.

Asian markets may open slightly higher today and may rise further if investors decided that it's time to bargain hunt cheap stocks. Most markets retreated yesterday as more jitters came from Wall St over fears of Lehman Brothers' failure. The sliding oil price may provide support and reason for investors to buy stocks as inflation pressure eases. Volatility in the markets around the region may be quite high especially for those with expiring futures contract due today such as Nikkei and Kospi. Oil was recently traded around $102.83ish per barrel, gold traded around $750.35ish and JPY traded around 107.80ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 12295 in CME compared to the close of 12300 for old contract and 12260 for new contract here yesterday.

Kospi may open around yesterday's closing price with tendency to go higher today. Kospi was one of the markets in the green territory yesterday as investors bought up futures contracts for rollover due to expire today. The strengthening Won may provide support and give more reason for investors to buy stocks. The drop in oil prices may also give reason for investors to buy. Kospi may find support at 189ish and its resistance at 194ish today. Please take note that these data is for Kospi's new contract.

Hangseng may open higher today and may again reclaim its 20,000 psychological level. Hangseng dropped to below 20,000 on downgrades for China property sector and also after commodity related stocks were hit. Bargain hunters may start kicking in today as they try to get cheap stocks to collect when the Hangseng index dip below 20,000. China's inflation measure dropped to 4.9%, its lowest in 14 months. However, investors are not too happy with that data as now, the focus are on commodity prices which have dropped so fast that it indicated a major slowdown in economy. Hangseng may find its resistance at 20300ish today and its support at 19800ish.

Asian market preview 10/09/2008

2008-09-10T05:30:00.002+07:00

US markets tumbled more than 2% last night on fresh concerns regarding Lehman Brothers that the company might not be able to find new investors to shore up its balance sheets. The pullback came a day after the biggest single-session rally in a month, after the government announced the takeover of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Worries about the fate of Lehman Brothers sent its stocks down nearly 50% as talks with South Korea's KDB ended. Another bad news came from the pending US home sales report where the National Association of Realtors reported that its pending sales of existing homes fell 3.2% to 86.5 from 89.4 in June and missed a predicted reading of 88.6. Energy companies suffered yet again as oil fell $3.08 to settle at $103.26 per barrel as Hurricane Ike appeared to be heading away from installations in the Gulf. The Dow ended down by 280.01 pts or 2.43% to 11,230.73, S&P500 fell 43.28 pts or 3.41% to 1,224.51 while Nasdaq fell 59.95 pts or 2.64% to 2,209.81.

Asian markets may open lower again today as more worries from the US may spill over to the region. Yesterday, Asian markets were closed lower as profit taking dominated the market and more economic worries caused investors to seek safety. The economic doubts seem to become reality today as fears that another major bank may collapse in the US may trigger a selloff yet again. The continuing downfall in energy and commodity prices may help the market in long term as inflation eases but may hurt markets in short term as energy and commodity companies may lose market value. Oil was recently traded around $103.26ish per barrel, gold traded around $792ish and JPY traded around 107.08ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 12175 in CME last night compared to the close of 12455 for old contract and 12405 for new contract here yesterday.

Kospi may open lower again today following the end of the takeover talk by KDB for Lehman Brothers. Uncertainties about the fate of major US banks may spook investors as more economic worries may spread globally. The fall in oil prices may help stocks such as airlines and travels but it may not help too much as investors may seek safety after big gains on Monday. From technical point of view, Kospi still have room to fall after a gain of more than 5% on Monday and it needs to close the big gap formed that day. Kospi may find its support at 182ish and a very strong support at 180ish and its resistance at 187ish.

Hangseng may open lower yet again and may continue its path lower, closing the gap formed on Monday too. With more economic uncertainties from the US, investors in Hong Kong may not want to bet too heavily and may pull their winnings while they're still in the money right now. However, the continuing fall in oil prices may help curb the selloff and may give positive sentiment for the market in inflation terms. Chinese mainland market may yet again play a part in determining whether Hangseng may continue its downward path or it may recover slightly in 2nd session. Hangseng may find its support at 19800ish and its resistance at 20500ish today.

Asian market preview 09/09/2008

2008-09-09T04:45:00.002+07:00

US markets soared last night following after news came out on Sunday that the government have taken over Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The markets rallied alongside Europe and Asia, staging one of the biggest 1 day rally around the world. The takeover was cheered by investors and it boosted confidence for financials and home builders. However, the move did not immediately help all areas of the economy for example tech which was battered badly last week. Analysts believe that the rescue for both companies may provide a short-term rally and lessened the bear grip on the market. Financials and home builders provided boosts for the markets while Tech sector still quite lagging behind on worries that global slowdown may slow demands. Crude oil price rose slightly on fears that hurricane Ike may be on its way to oil infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico. Light sweet crude rose 11 cents to settle at $106.34 per barrel. The Dow ended up by 289.78 pts or 2.58% to 11,510.74 after being up nearly 350 pts earlier. S&P500 rose 25.48 pts or 2.05% to 1,267.79 while Nasdaq rose 13.88 pts or 0.62% to 2,269.76.

Asian markets may open around yesterday closing price with more upward bias today as most markets have staged quite a big rally yesterday. It is not surprising if some markets may also pullback some of the gains from yesterday as markets rose quite sharply for 1 day. Financials and banks may still provide the steam for today's advance but fears of hurricane Ike may cause oil price to rise and in turn may drag some markets around the region. Oil was recently traded around $106.34ish per barrel, gold traded around $802.50ish and JPY traded around 108.10ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 12540 in CME compared to the close of 12660 here yesterday.

Kospi may open around the same price as yesterday and may still rise further today if there are more market boosting news such as a stronger Won. However, a pullback is not surprising considering that the market rallied more than 5% yesterday. Investors may also still be cautious ahead of more economic data to come out of the US later on this week, and also the fate of commodity prices will be closely watched by investors. Kospi may find its resistance at 193ish and its support at 188ish today.

Hangseng may open around yesterday's closing price with some upward bias. However, with China markets dragging like yesterday, Hangseng may lose some steam and may also be dragged lower by China mainland markets. Yesterday's rally was quite big for Hangseng too and quick profit taking for those hit-n-run traders may cause Hangseng to lose more points. The uncertainty in oil prices may also provide reason for investors to look for safety while they're in the money. Hangseng may find its resistance at 21000 and its support at 20400ish today.

Asian market preview 08/09/2008

2008-09-08T01:20:00.003+07:00

US markets were closed mixed on Friday after investors wrestled with more economic worries, extending sharp losses after a disappointing jobs report but finally got some modest gains as bargain hunters kicked in. Markets fell after Labor Department reported that payrolls shrank more than anticipated, shrank 84,000 compared to the predicted of 75,000 decrease. Unemployment rate rose to 6.1% from 5.7%. However, markets got boosted as investors saw opportunity in the sharp drops during the week and consider that most of the stocks are near the bottom. Speculative buying dominated the markets on Friday as oil continued to fall, settling down $1.66 at $106.23 per barrel. Financials mostly rose as speculation that Lehman Brothers Inc is expected to survive the credit crisis. Over the weekend, government announced that the US government have seized control of 2 troubled mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the biggest step taken by officials to grapple with the ever-persistent credit crisis. The Dow ended up by 32.73 pts or 0.29% to 11,220.96, S&P500 rose 5.48 pts or 0.44% to 1,242.31 while Nasdaq fell 3.16 pts or 0.14% to 2,255.88.

Asian markets may open slightly higher today after US markets seemed to have rebounded slightly. Technical rebound may dominate the market today with bargain hunters may kick in to buy battered stocks from last week. The falling oil prices may finally help and should be able to give some comfort for investors as inflation problem slightly eased. The announcement that US government have taken over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may also give some hope for investors. Oil was recently traded around $106.23ish per barrel, gold traded around $802.80ish and JPY traded around 107.36ish. Nikkei futures were closed at 12210 in CME compared to the close of 12105 here on Friday.

Kospi may open slightly higher today as Wall St mostly rose on Friday on bargain hunting. Kospi have been battered quite bad last week and investors may finally come to their senses and may start buying stocks, which are quite cheap and reasonable now. With the continued weakness in energy market, investors may have less to worry about in inflation sector. Kospi may rise more towards 185ish and may find strong resistance there while it may find a strong support in the 178ish region today.

Hangseng may open higher today as US markets are able to manuver its way through bad job data on Friday and managed to close mostly higher. With the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, investors may find it comforting as the 2 giants finally gets the help they need. Hangseng futures fell by quite a margin after market closed on Friday. Technical rebound and bargain hunting may help Hangseng today. Hangseng may find its resistance at 20500 today and its support at 19700 today. China markets may also play a part in determining whether Hangseng will rise and gets its rebound or may even slide further down as it had broken the 20,000 support point.

Asian market preview 05/09/2008

2008-09-05T07:54:00.002+07:00

US markets plunged last night after retail and employment data mounted more fears on economic slowdown for investors and devastated hopes for a late-year recovery. Investors were already nervous waiting for August employment report due on Friday, so the weak retail sales released last night added to the worries as a major blow and investors did not like it one bit. Higher gas and food prices have caused shoppers to cut their spendings on luxury items. Another bad news came from Labor Department where they said that new applications for unemployment rose by 15,000 last week from the previous week signaling weak job markets. The market was overwhelmed by the strings of bad news that it showed little reaction when the ISM said that service sector grew unexpectedly in August for first time in 3 months as new orders increased and inflation moderated. The Dow plunged down 344.65 pts or 2.99% to 11,188.23, S&P500 fell 38.15 pts or 2.99% to 1,236.83 and Nasdaq fell 74.69 pts or 3.20% to 2,259.04.

Asian markets may open lower today and Japan market have traded lower since the open. It opened at 12200 and it edged down lower further and was recently traded around 12180 after reaching its current low of 12155 and its high of 12255. With the Yen strengthening against US$, it is quite hard for Japanese stocks to get a lift today and may trade around this range for the rest of the day. However, bargain hunters may be a surprise package and may give Nikkei some boost later on in the afternoon. Oil was recently traded around $107.68ish per barrel, gold traded around $798.20ish and JPY traded around 106.87ish. Nikkei futures was recently traded around 12190.

Kospi have opened lower and currently traded off its current day low. It opened at 180.00 and have reached its lowest of 179.75 and its current high at 181.15. It is currently traded around 180.80. Kospi may trade around this region for the rest of the day but it may go up if bargain hunters decided to buy into the cheap stocks available in the market now. South Korean government attempt to curb the falling Won may also help the market a bit and give some optimism to investors. Kospi have been battered quite bad in recent weeks and that may give investors some reason to buy and as oil prices stayed below $110 per barrel, it may give positive impact in long term as inflation pressure moderated around the region.

Hangseng may open lower today and may go well below 20,000 today. It may open around 19700 and may even go down further if investors think that Hangseng is not quite cheap enough right now. If Hangseng did not manage to close above 20,000 by the end of the day, it may go down further next week. Hangseng may find its support at 19,500 today and its resistance at 20,300 today. Volatility may be high as bargain hunters may kick in to buy into the market as Hangseng fall below the 20,000 level for first time this year.

Asian market preview 04/09/2008

2008-09-04T05:02:00.002+07:00

US markets were closed mixed last night as investors still unsettled about the economy ahead of Friday's employment report and only sliding commodities prices gave some support for the market. Good news came from Commerce Department where it reported a 1.3% increase in orders for manufactured products, compared to the 0.8% predicted by economists. However, that piece of good news was shrugged off by investors as automakers released sluggish August sales and The Fed reported weak economic activity throughout the nation. Meanwhile, oil continued its sliding path, touching briefly below $108 per barrel before it settled down 36 cents at $109.35 per barrel. The troubled financial sector also drew some bargain hunters on positive news for big names such as Ambac, Freddie Mac and Lehman Brothers Inc. The Dow ended up by 15.96 pts or 0.14% to 11,532.88, S&P500 fell 2.60 pts or 0.20% to 1,274.98 while Nasdaq fell 15.51 pts or 0.66% to 2,333.73.

Asian markets may open around yesterday's closing price with somewhat flat bias throughout the day. With oil stayed below $110 per barrel, it may give more confidence for investors to buy into the stock markets but more uncertainties from the US may prevent markets to rally much today. Commodities related companies may be hit hard again today with the continued fall in oil and other commodities. Oil was recently traded around $109.35ish per barrel, gold traded around $808.20ish and JPY traded around 108.25ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 12650 in CME compared to the close of 12630 here yesteday.

Kospi may open at around yesterday's closing price and may move within the same range as the yesterday. Government's attempt to curb the weakening Won may help and give hopes for investors to buy into the stock markets. However, if regional market sentiment is still weak, Kospi may be pressurized further. Bargain hunting may kick in and help to give market some ray of hope and may cause high volatility in the market. Kospi may find its support at 182ish and its resistance at 187ish today.

Hangseng may open at around yesterday's closing price but it may change if regional markets move in a drastic way whether it's up or down. With Hangseng being battered badly yesteday, some technical rebound may happen in early trade. Bargain hunters may kick in and try to get cheap stocks as oil stayed below $110 per barrel. However, weak market sentiment from US and other markets such as China may limit Hangseng's rally today. Hangseng may find its support at its year's lowest point of 20300ish and its resistance at 20800ish.

Asian market preview 03/09/2008

2008-09-03T04:57:00.002+07:00

US markets erased sharp gains in early trade to close moderately lower last night. Oil prices became the main reason for markets' activity for last night's trade where crude oil fell to as low as $105.46 per barrel. However, the positive impact from the falling oil was short-lived on stocks as commodity producers and more worries in housing and financial sector weighed on the overall market. There is a high level of uncertainty in the market which caused high volatility like we saw the past few months. ISM said its index on manufacturing activity fell to 49.9 in August from 50 in July as expected. Crude oil ended the day falling $5.75 to settle at $109.71 per barrel as fears of new storm brewing. Financials and airlines led the markets higher last night while tech sector was dragging the overall market. The Dow ended down by 26.63 pts or 0.23% to 11,516.92, S&P500 fell 5.25 pts or 0.41% to 1,277.58 while Nasdaq fell 18.28 pts or 0.77% to 2,349.24.

Asian markets may open around yesterday's closing numbers today following the weak close on Wall St. However, markets sentiment around the region may be positive today as oil prices fell by a quite a large amount and was traded below $110 since April. The cheaper oil eased inflationary concerns around the region but more uncertainties regarding the whole global economy may also drag the markets down today. Oil was recently traded around $110.20ish per barrel, gold traded around $809.40ish and JPY traded around 108.68ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 12680 in CME last night compared to the close of 12755 here yesterday.

Kospi may open rather flat with higher bias in early trade today as falling crude oil may spur some buying interests for investors. However, the continued decline in the Won currency may still weigh on the market unless the government really going to do something about it. Bargain hunters may kick in as the market have been badly battered for the past few weeks. Volatility may be high as the market try to grapple with positive news of falling energy prices and the negative news of the overall economic stability. Kospi may find its support at 180 today and its resistance at 186ish.

Hangseng may open higher today on lower oil price cues and may extend yesterday's rally. The continued decline in oil prices may help the market as it gave some hope to investors that inflation problem is easing slowly. However, as there are more storms to come in the US, oil may creep back up and may weigh on the market yet again. China markets may play a part in determining how well Hangseng market may perform today. Hangseng may find its support at 20800ish and its resistance at 21400ish today.

Asian market preview 02/09/2008

2008-09-02T04:53:00.002+07:00

US markets were closed for labor day holiday last night. All eyes were on hurricane Gustav though and crude oil was being traded electronically in Nymex in a special trading session. Crude oil prices tumbled $4.34 to $111.12 per barrel in late afternoon electronic trading as hurricane Gustav weakened along the Gulf Coast and posed less of a threat to oil drilling and refining operations. Dow futures was recently traded around 11567.

Asian markets may open rather flat today as lack of cues from the US markets may prevent investors to bet too heavily at the start. However, markets around the region may rise today as the markets have tumbled significantly yesterday. The drop in oil prices may also help boost the overall market in the region as it gave some hope for investors. Crude oil was recently traded around $111.22ish per barrel, gold traded around $823.50ish and JPY traded around 108ish. Nikkei futures was closed in CME last night and was closed at 12835 here yesterday.

Kospi may open around yesterday's closing price and it may get a technical rebound today after tumbling more than 4% yesterday. Kospi may try to get towards 188ish region today if bargain hunters sees this as an opportunity to get into the battered market. However, the continuing slump in the country's currency may prevent the increase to be sustainable. Foreigners may also play a part in determining whether Kospi is set to rebound or will it continue its slide today. Kospi may find its support at 180ish today with its strong resistance at 188ish.

Hangseng may open around the same price as yesterday's close but with a higher note on a rebound course. Lower oil prices may give some hope for investors and may boost oil-sensitive stocks such as airlines. However, with lack of news from the US and investors are still anticipating more bad news this week, gains are seen to be quite limited today. Hangseng may try the 21000 level again and if it managed to do that, it may find strong resistance at 21200 today and its support at 20600.

Asian market preview 01/09/2008

2008-09-01T04:40:00.002+07:00

US markets tumbled on Friday after the government said that personal incomes fell last month by the largest amount in 3 years while consumer spending slowed. Disappointing report from Dell Inc. also weighed on Nasdaq. Commerce Department reported that personal incomes fell by 0.7% in July, more than the 0.1% predicted by analysts. Consumer spending also rose modestly by 0.2% compared to the 0.6% increase seen in June. There are also better report for Chicago Purchasing Managers Index where it jumped to 57.9 from 50.8 in July. However, the bad report in personal incomes and consumer spending, also the high oil prices due to fears of hurricane Gustav weighed on the markets more. Traditionally, September is believed to be a weak month for stock markets as analysts believed. Nymex electronic trading is available on Sunday in a special session as hurricane Gustav approaches. Analysts believe that Gustav may be worst than Katrina and crude oil price rose $2.21 to $117.37 per barrel as of 3:27 PM New York time. The Dow ended lower by 171.63 pts or 1.47% to 11,543.55, S&P500 fell 17.85 pts or 1.37% to 1,282.83 while Nasdaq fell 44.12 pts or 1.83% to 2,367.52.

Asian markets may open lower today following more bad news from the US and also after the markets plunged on Friday. The weak personal incomes and consumer spending numbers from the US still indicated that the US' economy is still weak and a lot of work still needs to be done. Higher oil prices as Gustav approached closer to the gulf of mexico may also hurt oil sensitive stocks and may affect the overall market around the region. Crude oil was recently traded around $116.70 per barrel, gold traded around $835.20ish and JPY traded around 108.20ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 12950 in CME compared to the close of 13035 here on Friday.

Kospi may open lower again and may go further lower after it was closed at its lowest point for this year on Friday. Foreigners may still be net sellers and local investors may also dump more stocks today as confidence is growing thin for Kospi market. Fears of higher oil prices may also weigh on market as higher oil means higher inflation for the country. Kospi may open around 187-188 and may go down further towards the 185 level. It may find resistance at 191ish today and support at around 185ish.

Hangseng may open lower today after it gained grounds on Friday after positive news on US data. However, as US data showed more weakness in the economy, Hangseng may fall again today. Hangseng may open at around 21100ish and may fall to below 21000 again today. It may find support at 20800 and resistance at 21300 today. China mainland markets may also play a part in today's session as volatility may be high too today with oil prices may be in focus for oil sensitive stocks.

Asian market preview 29/08/2008

2008-08-29T05:13:00.002+07:00

US markets were closed sharply higher last night on better-than-expected GDP, a drop in jobless claims and also a decline in oil prices. The Commerce Department reported that GDP rose at an annual rate of 3.3% for the April-June period which gave investors some new optimism as it was better than government's initial estimate of 1.9% and economists' forecast of 2.7%. The good GDP number gave investors reassurance that the economy is holding up and it marked the economy's best performance since Q3 last year when GDP rose 4.8%. The Labor Department also reported that jobless claims dropped to 425,000 down 10,000 from the previous week and was better than the 427,000 expected by analysts. Oil prices rose initially on fears that tropical storm Gustav will hit installations in The Gulf of Mexico but the strengthening dollar helped curb those gains and caused oil prices to drop. Crude oil fell $2.56 to settle at $115.59 per barrel. Trading volume was light again last night ahead of the long Labor Day weekend in US. The Dow rose 212.67 pts or 1.85% to 11,715.18, S&P500 rose 19.02 pts or 1.48% to 1,300.68 while Nasdaq rose 29.18 pts or 1.22% to 2,411.64. Dell Computers reported Q2 profit that fell short of analysts' estimates and shares tumbled after hours.

Asian markets may open higher today following the strong close on Wall St caused by new-found optimism with the better GDP number. Lower oil prices may also help Asian markets today following the drop around the region yesterday. Foreigners may still play a big part in many Asian countries and they may determine whether they're going to boost the Asian markets now. However, with today being a Friday, gains may also be limited going towards the weekend as investors may not want to risk it in the uncertain times. Oil was recently traded around 116.49ish per barrel and it may rise again in the weekend as Gustav creeps in. Gold was recently traded around $838.80ish and JPY traded around 109.43ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13005 in CME last night compared to the close of 12790 here yesterday.

Kospi may open higher today following the sharp drop yesterday and was closed near this year's lowest point. Stocks may rebound today as bargain hunters may kick in and also after the US markets showed more strength than expected. The slightly lower oil prices may also help investors to find reasons to buy into stocks. Kospi may open around 192-193ish and may rise further towards 195ish. However, if foreigners keep selling off their stocks, Kospi may not hold that for long and it may go back down. Volatility may be high as bargain hunters and sellers try to reign the market. Kospi may find its resistance at 195 and its support at 190 today.

Hangseng may open higher today after being battered badly yesterday following some downgrades for some heavyweights in the market. Good earnings doesn't mean that companies can have a nice rally as downgrades from financial institutions made investors selloff stocks while they're still in the money. However, Hangseng may rebound today as US economy showed positive signs and also strong market close for the US proved that investors in the US are still quite optimistic. However, gains may also be limited ahead of the weekend today. Hangseng may open around 21200ish and may rise further towards 21500ish today. Hangseng may find its resistance at 21500 and its support at 21800 today.

Asian market preview 28/08/2008

2008-08-28T04:46:00.002+07:00

US markets were closed higher last night after durable goods surprisingly rose for 2nd month in a row. The Commerce Department reported that durable goods jumped 1.3% in July, led by a big gain in demand for commercial aircraft. The strong number in durable goods indicated that manufacturing is holding quite well and it also showed that business spending and consumer confidence may pick up later on. Meanwhile, crude oil kept rising last night, it rose $1.88 to settle at $118.15 per barrel as fears that tropical storm Gustav might hit the Gulf of Mexico installations. Financial sector also get a boost after durable goods number jumped as it eased fears that further economic slowdown will hit the already troubled banks and lenders. Dow ended up by 89.64 pts or 0.79% to 11,502.51, S&P500 rose 10.15 or 0.80% to 1,281.66 while Nasdaq rose 20.49 pts or 0.87% to 2,382.46. Trading volumes are light ahead of the long Labor Day weekend.

Asian markets may open higher today following Wall St's positive close last night as durable goods order rose which gave some positive vibe to the markets. However, further increase in crude oil prices may hurt oil-sensitive stocks such as airlines and may also hurt the overall markets around the region. Markets dominated by commodity companies such as Indonesia may get the advantage with rising oil. Oil was recently at $118.15ish per barrel, gold traded at $834ish and JPY traded at 109.54ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 12865 in CME compared to the close of 12755 here yesterday.

Kospi may open higher today following more good news from the US and the stronger markets close over there. However, if foreigners keep selling off stocks locally and if oil prices keep rising, Kospi may be hurt again today. Kospi touched its new year's low at 189.10 yesterday but managed to close well above the 190 level again. Kospi may extend yesterday's slight gain and may try to get towards 195 level today with strong support stands at 190 and its current year low of 189.10.

Hangseng may open higher today following the strong US markets close last night and may extend yesterday's gains. Hangseng was closed up almost 2% yesterday after China Mobile and China Life led the rally and the big gains were caused by futures rollover buying late yesterday afternoon. The market may extend those gains today but the high oil prices may weigh on the market too. Today's market may be influenced by the first half earnings of 2 heavyweights in PetroChina and CNOOC. Both are oil-related companies. Hangseng may find its support at 21200 today and its resistance at 22000.

Asian market preview 27/08/2008

2008-08-27T05:12:00.002+07:00

US stocks ended mixed in light trading last night as concerns about the path of hurricane Gustav sent oil prices higher and offset a better-than-expected reading on consumer confidence. Comments from The Fed regarding the country's high inflation also added to market's uneasiness. The Fed's minutes from Aug. 5 meeting showed that they are concerned about creeping inflation and it would need to raise interest rates to curb inflation. However, analysts believe that The Fed are more concerned about the slowing growth and it would need a significant jump in gas prices for The Fed to start raising interest rates, which they believe to be quite some time. The Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index rose to 56.9 from a revised 51.9 in July. Analysts have expected a reading of 53 which marked a second month of improvement in sentiment, after a six-month slide since January. Another good news came from Commerce Department where it reported that new home sales rose 2.4% in July while analysts have expected a drop in sales. However, despite all these good news, the markets are more concerned that Hurricane Gustav would hit installations in the Gulf of Mexico in the coming days which sent energy prices higher. Crude oil rose $1.16 to settle at $116.27 per barrel. Volatility is quite high but trading volume remains light last night as investors are usually take the last week of the summer off. The Dow ended slightly higher by 26.62 pts or 0.23% to 11,412.87, S&P500 rose 4.67 pts or 0.37% to 1,271.51 while Nasdaq fell 3.62 pts or 0.15% to 2,361.97.

Asian markets may open flat with a slightly upward bias following US markets' mixed close last night. Higher energy prices may weigh slightly on the markets but with dollar gained strength against major currencies, exporters may get a boost. The positive news from the US which came out last night may help regional markets slightly too but as there are not many news from The US, markets may have to rely locally for directions. Markets dominated by commodity related companies such as Indonesia may rise today with the rising energy prices. Crude oil was recently traded at around $116.20ish per barrel, gold traded around $287.10ish and JPY traded around 109.62ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 12815 in CME compared to the close of 12780 here yesterday.

Kospi may open around yesterday's close but with slightly upward bias today. Positive news from The US may give some reasons for investors to buy into stocks today after the market fell yesterday and after just a slight increase on Monday. However, with oil prices back above $116 per barrel, investors may still be quite nervous as high energy prices means inflation problem is creeping back in. Bargain hunters may find their way to buy stocks though as the market have been battered quite badly and it is currently near this year's lowest points. Kospi may find its support at 190ish and its resistance at 196ish today.

Hangseng may open slightly higher today following yesterday's selloff after it rose sharply on Monday. With a huge drop on Wall St on Monday night, the slight drop in Hangseng yesterday indicated that market sentiment is still quite good for Hangseng and that it may rise further today. Bargain hunters may kick in to buy stocks but oil sensitive stocks may be dragging the overall market today. China mainland markets may also play a part to determine whether Hangseng will rise more or it will go back down. Hangseng may open at around 21120ish and it may find its support at 20800 and its resistance at 21300ish today.

Asian market preview 26/08/2008

2008-08-26T05:44:00.002+07:00

US markets tumbled more than 240 points last night as financials drag on the overall market. The trading volume was light and that was part of the reason that the market fell steeply. AIG was the victim and was the steepest decliner among the Dow stocks after a Credit Suisse analyst cut its price target and forecast steep losses for third quarter. Adding to investors' concerns, Fitch Ratings warned late Friday that it might cut its ratings for AIG. Banks and other financial institutions also struggled in part because of a spike in the number of homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments. A report on Monday indicated that the number of unsold properties rose to an all-time high in July which caused investors to ignore the better-than-expected 3.1% increase in sales of existing homes. Crude prices rose 52 cents to settle at $115.11 after tropical storm Gustav formed in the Carribean. Trading volume was light and analysts expected this week to be more or less the same due to the lack of data. Investors are just too worried about the state of banks and financial institutions because of the prolonged credit crisis. The Dow ended down by 241.81 pts or 2.08% to 11,386.25, S&P500 fell 25.36 pts or 1.96% to 1,266.84 while Nasdaq fell 49.12 pts or 2.03% to 2,365.59.

Asian markets may open lower today after staging a big rally yesterday. More worries on the US' financial sector may drag the regional markets as foreigners may sell their stocks over in Asia. With more uncertainties for crude oil, there are more reasons for investors to sell and maybe have a profit taking session today. Oil was recently traded around $115.35ish per barrel, gold traded around $827.20ish and JPY traded around 109.26ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 12695 in CME compared to the close of 12870 here yesterday.

Kospi may open lower today after staging a moderate rebound yesterday due to the fall in oil prices and some good news on inflation problems in the US. However, as foreigners still selling off stocks, Kospi only rose marginally yesterday. Nervousness is still around for investors as the Korean Won fell to its weakest and government are trying to do something to prevent it to fall further. Exporters gets benefit on the falling Won but investors do not think the same way and Kospi is still being pressurised. Kospi may open around 191ish and may go further lower if investors decided to sell more stocks and if foreigners decided to sell their holdings. Kospi may have a strong support at around 190ish but if it breach that level, it may find its strong support at around 187-188ish region. Kospi may find its resistance at 193ish today.

Hangseng may open lower today following the weak close in Wall St after more worries regarding the financial sector in the US. A day after staging a 700 pts rally, investors over in Hong Kong may take a breather and decide to enjoy some profit in these uncertain times in the global market. Hangseng may open around 20900ish and may go down further if investors decided to selloff stocks while they're in the money. However, if optimism is shown from Chinese government with their stimulus package, there's a chance that Hangseng may get a rebound and rise further. With high volatility in the market, Hangseng may find its support at 20700ish today and may find its resistance at around 21200ish today.

Asian market preview 25/08/2008

2008-08-25T05:25:00.002+07:00

US markets were closed sharply higher on Friday to end a volatile week with just a slight loss as oil prices tumbled and after The Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said that inflation pressures are likely to moderate. Bernanke said that inflation pressures should moderate this year amid tepid economic growth and as commodity prices start to fall back. However, he added that inflation forecast remains "highly uncertain". Investors' mood were further lifted as crude oil plunged $6.59 per barrel to settle at $114.59 per barrel. Speculation surrounding Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., saying that Korea Development Bank is considering buying the company, helped to give some hope for the financial sector and gave investors a reason to buy Lehman's stocks after the market sold off its stocks the day before. However, with light trading volumes, analysts' have said that the rally could not be fully used as an indicator that investors are confident enough to buy into the market. Remarks from Bernanke and Warren Buffet also indicated that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac might be able to get by without a government bailout. The Dow finished the day up by 197.85 pts or 1.73% to 11,628.06, trimming the week's loss to 31.84 pts or 0.27%. S&P500 rose 14.48 pts or 1.13% to 1,292.20, trimming the week's loss to 6.00 pts or 0.46%. Nasdaq rose 34.33 pts or 1.14% to 2,414.71 but ended down for the week by 37.81 pts or 1.54%.

Asian markets may open higher today with the fall in oil and some boost regarding inflation pressure to ease over in the US. Another sharp drop in oil prices means that investors can have a breather and are able to ease some concerns regarding inflation around the region. M&A may also give some boost to some markets around the region today. However, with oil prices fell, it means that commodity prices may also fall along and may cause some problems for countries like Indonesia where its market is dominated by commodity related companies. Oil was recently traded around $114.36ish per barrel, gold traded around $821.85ish and JPY traded around 109.90ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 12905 in CME compared to the close of 12730 here on Friday.

Kospi may open higher today after being badly battered last week and have made a new year low at 190.40 on Friday. With oil prices falling back to the $114ish region, hopefully investors may get some confident to buy stocks back today. It was typical last week that Kospi opened a day higher but could not hold onto its gains for the rest of the day. Kospi may open around 195ish and may rise further if investors are confident enough. It may find its resistance at around 197ish and may find its support at 193ish today.

Hangseng may open higher today following the market's close on Friday due to hurricane warning. However, Hangseng have missed a sharp drop in the market along with regional sentiment on Friday. This may cause some slowdown in the rally today. With the Beijing Olympics finished over the weekend, hopefully this will bring investors attention back to the market and may cause them to buy stocks back today especially after oil prices are back to the $114 region. China markets may also play a part to determine how high Hangseng may rise today or where it will be capped for its gains. Hangseng have also made a new year low record of 20300 on Thursday. Hangseng may open around 20500ish and may rise further if investors decided to buy stocks now. Hangseng may find its resistance at 20800ish today and its support at 20300ish.

Asian market preview 22/08/2008

2008-08-22T06:09:00.003+07:00

US markets ended the session mixed last night after a huge jump in oil put some nervousness back into investors' minds. The positive news came from financial sector where analyst raised its ratings on Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. to buy saying that the 4th biggest investment bank has become a hostile takeover candidate. That call helped ease concerns for investors and shrugged off most of the inflation fears caused by the spike in oil. Crude oil jumped $5.62 to settle at $121.18 per barrel amid rising tension between US and Russia and also the weakening US$ against major currencies. The rebound in oil prices helped energy companies such as Exxon and Chevron higher but weighed on such companies like United Airlines and Continental Airlines. Economic readings also showed some weakness but were ignored by investors. The Philly Fed said regional manufacturing activity was negative for 9th straight month. Investors were also ignoring the better-than-expected readings in unemployment from Labor Department. Report said that claims fell by 13,000 to 432,000 last week which was more than expected. The Dow ended a tick higher by 12.78 pts or 0.11% to 11,430.21, S&P500 rose 3.18 pts or 0.25% to 1,277.72 while Nasdaq fell 8.70 pts or 0.36% to 2,380.38.

Asian markets may have difficulties in today's trading with a sharp spike in oil prices indicated that inflationary pressure is creeping back in. The markets which have opened have indicated such pressure as they have all went lower just within 1 hour of trading. With higher oil prices and more worries over in the US financial sector, markets around the region may face more selling pressure and investors may also want to offload their stocks holdings as weekend is around the corner. Oil was recently traded around $121ish per barrel, gold traded around $835.80ish and JPY traded around 108.58ish. Nikkei have opened at 12750 and have ticked lower to reached its current low at 12625 and its current high at 12755. Nikkei was recently traded at 12680.

Kospi have also opened at the time of my writing. Kospi was opened at 194.65 and it went south after touching its current high of 194.70. Kospi have touched its lowest at 191.40 and was recently traded at around 192.15. Kospi may trade in this range for the rest of the day but there's also a chance that it might go lower further if investors are more nervous and if oil prices keep going up in Asian trading session. Kospi may find a strong support at 190ish and may find its resistance at 195 today.

Hangseng may open lower yet again today as a spike in oil prices means more inflationary pressure for the country and also for the greater China region. However, with Hangseng have been badly battered for the past few sessions, bargain hunters may kick in if the index have gone far too low. Hangseng may open around 20200ish and may go down further to test the 20000 level today. It may even break the 20000 level and may find its strong support at 19800ish today. Hangseng may find its resistance at 20500 today. China markets may play a big market if Hangseng should rebound or fall further.

Asian market preview 20/08/2008

2008-08-20T08:38:00.002+07:00

US markets were closed sharply lower for 2nd straight day last night on more economic concerns and financial worries. The Labor Department reported that Producer Price Index rose by 1.2% in July, more than double than expected and lifting the current annual rate to the highest in 27 years. Even after stripping food and energy costs, core prices rose by 0.7% which is higher than expected and biggest increase since November 2006. A slight increase in oil prices last night also made investors more nervous and decided that economic recovery is still quite far judging from the inflationary problems. More worries came from housing market as Commerce Department reported that July housing starts fell to an annual rate of 965,000 units, higher than analysts' expectation but still the lowest level in 17 years. Financial sector also took another hit as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is expected that they will need to writedown another $4 billion in Q3 and also after Goldman Sachs analyst advised against buying AIG stocks. The Dow ended lower by 130.84 pts or 1.14% to 11,348.55, S&P500 fell 11.90 pts or 0.93% to 1,266.70 and Nasdaq fell 32.62 pts or 1.35% to 2,384.36

Asian stocks have opened lower at the time of me writing this preview following weak US markets close overnight. A slight rebound in oil does not seem to help the regional markets today and higher inflation in an economic slowdown over in the US caused more worries for investors. The prolonged credit crisis in the US have caused investors to refrain from buying stocks in recent days and caused low daily turnover around the region. Oil was currently traded around $115ish per barrel, gold traded around $815.65ish and JPY traded around 109.80ish. Nikkei have opened at 12715 and rebounded straight away and currently traded around 12830 with current high at 12840.

Kospi have started the day lower at 197.10 and it reached its highest first at 198.65 before it went back down to get to current low at 196.15. Recently, Kospi was traded at around 197.50ish. Kospi may trade within this range for the rest of the day but it may go and break its current high later on with 200 as its resistance.

Hangseng have started the day lower at 20319 and it reached as low as 20305 and rebounded. Recently Hangseng is traded around 20550 after reaching its current high of 20561. Hangseng may break its current high later on after being battered quite badly for the past few sessions. Hangseng may find its support at 20200ish and its resistance at around 20700ish depending on how the China mainland markets perform too.

Asian market preview 19/08/2008

2008-08-19T08:14:00.003+07:00

US markets were closed lower yesterday as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fell to their lowest levels in nearly 20 years on concerns that government might need to bail out the mortgage financiers. More bad news also expected as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is expected to report weaker-than-expected third quarter results. More bad news from financial sector is already anticipated by investors but the prolonged credit crisis have wiped out investors' confidence despite the fall in commodities prices. Meanwhile, National Association of Realtors reported that housing market remained flat at 16 in August and met analysts' expectation but this data could not lift up the sour mood in Wall St. Oil prices dropped slightly after rising to above $115 per barrel when news that Tropical storm Fay approached Florida, but appeared unlikely to disrupt installations in the Gulf of Mexico. Crude oil fell 90 cents to settle at $112.87 per barrel. The Dow finished lower by 180.51 pts or 1.55% to 11,479.39, S&P500 fell 19.60 pts or 1.51% to 1,278.60 while Nasdaq fell 35.54 pts or 1.45% to 2,416.98.

Asian markets may start the day lower today and may continue lower as credit crisis in the US persists and financials could feel more nervous about the whole situation. The decline in crude oil may help to boost sentiment a little bit but as crude declines, other commodity products also decline and that also may affect mining companies and may bring markets lower too. Crude oil was recently traded around $113ish per barrel, gold traded around $789.25ish and JPY traded around 109.75ish. Nikkei futures have already started and was recently at 12800 after opening at 12970 and reaching as low as 12780 earlier today.

Kospi have opened at 200.45 and have reached current peak at 200.60 and reached its current low at 196.35. Recently, Kospi was traded at 197.00. Kospi may trade within this range for the rest of the day, however, there's a chance that it might try to break low again before it rebounded towards 198ish.

Hangseng may open lower today at around 20700ish and may go further lower towards 20500ish today as more worries in the US and also if China markets keep on selling stocks. As I have said earlier last week, with olympic games still in session, market in China and Hong Kong have slowed considerably, and people are cutting their stocks investment. Hangseng may find its support at around 20400 and its resistance at 21000 today.

**For the next few days, I will be posting late as I have some internet connection problems at home. I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

Asian market preview 15/08/2008

2008-08-15T05:13:00.002+07:00

US markets were closed higher for the first time in 3 sessions after oil prices dropped which sparked buying interest for investors and bargain hunters who seeks cheap, battered stocks especially in the financial sector. Crude oil fell 99 cents to settle at $115.01 per barrel and the pullback in oil reassure investors who are concerned that rising oil and energy prices would force consumers to keep paring back their spending. Markets fell in early trade after Labor Department reported another hefty jump in consumer prices. Consumer Price Index rose 0.8% in July, although this figure is not as high as June's increase, but it was twice as high as market expected and bring inflation to its highest annual pace in 17 years. The core index, eliminating food and energy prices, rose by a milder 0.3% last month. Labor Department also said that first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell by 10,000 last week, less than anticipated and it showed that labor market is still weak caused by weak economy. However, seeing how investors reacted to bad news and good news in recent weeks, the market may just be waiting for the right time to get into gear and have big rallies. The Dow ended up by 82.97 pts or 0.72% to 11,615.93, S&P500 rose 7.10 or 0.55% to 1,292.93 while Nasdaq rose 25.05 pts or 1.03% to 2,453.67.

Asian markets may open higher today following a mixed session yesterday. Most markets turned higher yesterday after initially opened weaker. The drop in oil prices overnight may help asian markets today and boost the markets around the region higher. However, with weekend around the corner, if markets in Asia can't get a big enough rally, it may go back down due to profit taking. Exporters may be boosted by stronger dollar. Oil was recently traded around $115ish per barrel, gold traded around $827.10ish and JPY traded around 109.70ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 12980, almost flat compared to yesterday's close of 12970.

Kospi is closed for public holiday today.

Hangseng may open higher today at around 21400ish and may go higher if investors decided to take opportunity with the battered market. Lower oil prices and stronger dollar may help boost the overall market. However, with olympic games still in session, trading volumes may still be light and the rally may not hold as much. China mainland markets may yet again play a significant part in determining how high the market will rise. Profit taking may take place around 21600ish. Hangseng may find its support at 21100ish and resistance at 21600ish today.

Asian market preview 14/08/2008

2008-08-14T05:10:00.002+07:00

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.

Asian market preview 12/08/2008

2008-08-12T05:00:00.002+07:00

US markets extended Friday's rally last night on lower oil prices but gains were limited by more credit worries around the country. Oil touched its lowest point since May at $112.72 per barrel and it caused stocks to shot up higher again and made the Dow to rise more than 130 points. However, comments from The Fed which said that about 75% of the banks it surveyed in July had increased requirements for prime mortgages, up from about 60% in April. Tighter lending standards means that it is more difficult to lend money that could stimulate the economy. In recent trading sessions, lower oil prices and the year-long credit crisis are competing for Wall St's attention, with oil pullbacks send stocks higher and credit-related news limited those gains. The Dow ended higher by 48.03 pts or 0.41% to 11,782.35, S&P500 rose 9.00 pts or 0.69% to 1,305.32 while Nasdaq rose 25.85 pts or 1.07% to 2,439.95.

Asian markets may open higher again today following the strong Wall St close last night and also the further declines in oil prices. However, China mainland markets may play a part in determining how strong the gains in those markets will be or will the markets loses steam again like yesterday. Oil was recently traded around $114.50ish per barrel, gold traded around $826.25ish and JPY traded around 110.05ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13420 in CME compared to the close of 13365 here yesterday.

Kospi may open higher again today and may extend yesterday's rally with lower oil prices may fuel the buying power for investors. US markets were also driven by lower oil prices but the persistent credit crisis still lingers and haunt the markets. Kospi may find its support at 201 and its resistance at 206 today.

Hangseng may open higher and may be able to sustain its gains today if China markets are staging a rebound as Hangseng lost its steam late yesterday. Hangseng may open at around 21900ish and may go towards 22400 today if more investors are becoming optimists that lower oil prices may bring inflation down around the region. Hangseng may find its support at 21800ish and its resistance at 22400ish today.

Asian market preview 11/08/2008

2008-08-11T04:55:00.002+07:00

US markets were closed sharply higher on Friday to end the highly volatile week on a high note. Another sharp drop in oil prices as dollar gained grounds against Euro sparked a buying frenzy by investors and set aside more financial worries generated by the 3x larger-than-expected loss at Fannie Mae. Oil prices dropped $4.82 per barrel to settle at $115.20 which brought crude's decline over the past 4 weeks to more than $30 per barrel. Investors saw good sign along with the drop in oil prices as cheaper oil means consumer can spend more freely. In a disturbing financial news, Fannie Mae reported a loss of $2.3 billion or $2.54 a share compared to the predicted 68 cents a share. The company also said it would cut its dividend to 5 cents from 35 cents. In this kind of market condition, investors would buy anything with positive news and sell anything when negative news came along. The Dow ended up by 302.89 pts or 2.65% to 11,734.32 and rose 3.6% for the week. S&P500 rose 30.25 pts or 2.39% to 1,296.32 and rose 2.9% for the week. Nasdaq climbed 58.37 pts or 2.48% to 2,414.10 and jumped 4.5% for the week.

Asian markets may open higher today following the strong close on Wall St on Friday. Investors around the region may finally find more optimism and reasons to buy into stocks with oil prices keep dropping to $115 level per barrel. Inflationary pressure also drops along with oil prices. However, more financial worries from the US may still weigh on the markets. Oil was recently traded at $115.95 per barrel, gold traded around $860.35 and JPY traded around $110ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13300 in CME on Friday compared to the close of 13170 here on Friday.

Kospi may open higher today following the huge gains on Wall St on Friday. Investors may start to buy into stocks again as oil prices declined to $115ish per barrel. Kospi may go towards 205ish today if investors are confident enough and may even go higher. However, if nervousness regarding US financial sector still outweigh even the sharp drop in oil, the market may pull back again. Market may have a volatile session with optimists still fight against the skeptics.

Hangseng may open higher today at around 21900-22000ish today and may go even higher as investors gains more confidence with the sharp drop in commodities prices. However, China markets may play another big part here again as it did on Friday where China markets plunged almost 5%. Hangseng may have a volatile session today with bargain hunters may come in and buy cheap stocks. Hangseng may find its support at 21800 and its resistance at 22300ish today.

Asian market preview 08/08/2008

2008-08-08T05:18:00.002+07:00

US markets were closed lower overnight in another triple digit session on concerns about further troubles in the financial sector, higher unemployment and lackluster retail sales. On top of the list of worries, American International Group Inc.(AIG), reported a loss of more than $5 billion for Q2 the stock fell $5.25 or 18%, the most since it went public in 1969. Labor Department also reported that the number of newly laid off people seeking jobless benefits last week jumped 7,000 to 455,000 last week, its highest level in more than six years. Weak sales report from Wal-Mart Inc and other retailers also added to investors' unease. Another disturbing news came from Moody's when it put American Express Co. on review for a possible downgrade in ratings. Oil prices which have been on downside trend, rose last night to settle at $120.02 per barrel, adding to Wall St's selling mood. A positive light came from National Association of Realtors when it reported its seasonally adjusted index of pending sales of existing homes rose 5.3% in June from prior month, rather than declining as expected by analysts. The Dow ended down by 224.64 pts or 1.93% to 11,431.43, S&P500 fell 23.12 pts or 1.79% to 1,266.07 while Nasdaq fell 22.64 or 0.95% to 2,355.73.

Asian markets may open lower today following more worries about the US' financials sector. The rise in oil prices also may add worries to the regional markets. Finally, being a Friday today, markets may be in profit-taking mood and it may cause further downfall in the markets around Asia. Oil was recently traded around $120.10ish per barrel, gold traded around $873.40ish and JPY traded around 109.40ish. Nikkei futures closed at 13095 in CME last night compared to the close of 13175 here yesterday.

Kospi may open lower today and may go well below 200 mark again. More downside risk is there if Kospi closed below 200 today. With more financial sector worries came out of the US and the seemingly endless economic problems may add to the selling factor for Kospi. Investors may also be in selling mood with oil price started to climb back up. Kospi may find support at 197 and resistance at 201ish today. However, with selling have already started yesterday, Kospi may not lose too much today.

Hangseng may open lower today following US markets' tumble on fresh economic and financials concerns. The rising oil price also may add to investors' worries today. China mainland markets may also play a part in determining how Hangseng will fare today. The Beijing olympics will kick-off tonight and that may bring some positive light to the region. Hangseng may open around 21900ish and may find its support at around 21700ish and its resistance around 22200 today.

Asian market preview 07/08/2008

2008-08-07T05:33:00.003+07:00

US markets were closed stronger overnight after posting big gains the day before. The continuing drop in oil prices gave investors more confidence that recession can be avoided and economic recovery is on course. Earlier in the session, investors have become nervous once again after Freddie Mac reported larger-than-expected Q2 loss but investors gained more confidence after government reported a jump in domestic oil inventories which caused oil price to slide 59 cents to settle at $118.58 per barrel. Oil price have almost fell $30 per barrel since reaching its peak of $147.27 on July 11. The better-than-expected earnings for Cisco Systems also helped markets to get more investors' confidence to buy into tech stocks while financials remained a weak spot. The Dow ended up by 40.30 pts or 0.35% to 11,656.07, S&P500 rose 4.31 pts or 0.34% to 1,289.19 while Nasdaq rose 28.54 pts or 1.21% to 2,378.37.

Asian markets may open higher today and may extend yesterday's rally after oil prices slid further last night, easing inflationary concerns around the region. Many analysts said that oil prices decline at just the right time which may help to boost global markets and prevent the markets to go deeper into recession. The strength in dollar also may boost exporters today. Tech stocks which were boosted in the US markets, may also be boosted around the region especially in Japan and South Korea. Oil was recently traded around $118.50ish per barrel, gold traded around $879.40ish and JPY traded around 109.60ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13290 in CME compared to the close of 13210 here yesterday.

Kospi may open higher today at around 205ish today and may extend its gains from yesterday should investors have become more confident to invest in stocks with the rapid decline in oil. However, with financial sector still worrisome in the US, investors might still have some doubts if this rally could actually last. In the short term, markets may become optimistic and investors may have enough confidence to buy into stocks.

Hangseng may open higher today and may play catch up with the rest of the region after the market was closed yesterday as the country was in danger with tropical storm approaching. Hangseng may open around 22300ish and may rise further towards 22700. If investors are optimistic enough, it may even try to get to 23000 mark as other region have posted big gains yesterday. China mainland market may play a part too in boosting Hangseng today. With olympic games approaching in 2 days time, China may be boosted further and with oil prices keep declining, investors may get more confidence to buy into stock markets.

Asian market preview 06/08/2008

2008-08-06T04:34:00.002+07:00

US markets were closed sharply higher last night as investors enjoyed reports that services sector activity fell less than expected last month, another drop in oil which took crude price to as low as $118 per barrel and finally, The Fed keeeping rates steady at 2% completes the huge rally. Early in the trading session, shares rose higher after Institute for Supply Management said its services sector index rose to 49.5 from 48.2 in June, higher than analysts expected at 49.0. Although any reading below 50 signals a contraction, but that reading brings some optimism to investors that the economy is recovering gradually. Oil also play a big part in yesterday's rally as it dropped to as low as $118 per barrel before it finally settled at $119.17 per barrel which brought the drop to $28 since its peak of $147.27 reached on July 11. The rally was then extended after The Fed announced to keep its rate steady at 2% as expected. Its accompanying statement is a little bit darker, stating that "inflation has been high, spurred by the earlier increases in the prices of energy and some other commodities." But it also said it expected inflation to moderate later in the year. On the earnings front, Cisco Systems reported a 4.4% increase in net income, beating expectations. P&G said its fiscal Q4 profit jumped 33% while D.R. Horton Inc. reported narrower fiscal Q3 loss. The Dow soared 331.62 pts or 2.94% to 11,615.77, S&P500 shot 35.87 pts or 2.87% to 1,284.88 while Nasdaq rose 64.27 or 2.81% to 2,349.83.

Asian markets are expected to open higher today following the strong US markets close and after The Fed kept interest rate steady at 2%. The 2-day decline around the region may also prompted some bargain hunters to hunt for cheap stocks as oil drops to below $120 per barrel. Finally, investors can have some confidence buying stocks with recent news and the decline in commodities prices. US$ gained strength against major currencies which will also boost exporters around the region. Oil was recently traded around $119.20ish per barrel, gold traded around $873.10ish while JPY traded around 108.28ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13170 in CME compared to the close of 12975 here yesterday.

Kospi may open higher at around 202 today following US markets strong close and the plunge in oil prices overnight. Investors may be boosted with weaker oil prices which will indicate that inflation may be going down later on in the year. With The Fed keeping rate steady at 2%, investors are expecting that The Fed are waiting patiently for economy to recover and this may bring positive sentiment to investors. Kospi may find support at 200 and resistance at around 205 today.

Hangseng may open higher at around 22300 today and may even rise higher after 2 days of declines. The drop in oil prices may boost investors' confidence to buy into stocks with optimism that inflation will go down. China markets may also play a part in determining how high Hangseng will go today. With index being below 22000, bargain hunting may come in and help boost the market today. Hangseng may find its support at 22100 and its resistance at 22700 today.

Asian market preview 05/08/2008

2008-08-05T05:17:00.003+07:00

US markets were closed moderately lower despite a plunge in oil prices which caused oil to close at 3-month low. Oil fell $3.69 to close at $121.41 per barrel and it has plunged nearly $26 per barrel or 17.6% since its peak at $147.27 set on July 11. Oil's retreat was a welcoming news to the markets that initially were sold off after a report from Commerce Department indicated that inflation gauge tied to consumer spending had surged 0.8% in June, which was the biggest jump since February 1981. Investors were also trading cautiously ahead of The Fed meeting which begins later on tonight. Investors are expecting The Fed to do nothing about interest rate in the coming meeting as weak economic data will still give huge pressure to economic recession. The decline of oil prices in recent weeks also give some relief to inflationary fears for The Fed. Investors will be keenly interested in The Fed's economic assessment statement that will accompany the rate decision. Commerce Department also reported that orders to US factory jumped at the fastest pace in six months in June but markets seem to be immune to the news. The Dow ended down by 42.17 pts or 0.37% to 11,284.15, S&P500 fell 11.30 pts or 0.90% to 1,249.01 while Nasdaq fell 25.40 pts or 1.10% to 2,285.56.

Asian markets may open lower yet again today following weaker economic data that came out of the US and also the nervousness waiting for The Fed's rate decision. Declines in oil prices may boost markets later on in the day as inflationary pressure is being taken off the investors' shoulder. Oil was recently traded around $120.60ish per barrel, gold traded around $893.25ish and JPY traded around 108.10ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 12970 in CME last night compared to the close of 12915 here yesterday. Nikkei have opened at 12910 and have moved higher in the first 15 minutes before going back down and then moved back up after 1 hour of trading.

Kospi have opened lower at around 198.75 today and have moved higher to set current high at 201. It then moved back down on US concerns towards 199 and was recently traded at 199.25 at the time of my writing. Kospi is expected to be trading around 197-202ish today with investors are likely to wait for The Fed's decision. The decline in oil may help investors looking for bargain stocks today.

Hangseng may open slightly lower at around 22300 today and may rebounded up today following the huge decline in oil last night in the US. If oil continues to declne, Hangseng may be boosted further with optimism. However, most investors are likely to sit on the sidelines today to wait for news from The Fed. China markets may also play a part in today's trading and may determine how high Hangseng will go or how low it will drop. Hangseng may find its support at 22000 today and its resistance at around 22700.

Asian market preview 04/08/2008

2008-08-04T04:51:00.003+07:00

US markets were closed lower on Friday after another decline in jobs, flat manufacturing activity and a massive quarterly loss at General Motors. Despite the pullback, markets were calmer than the first 4 days of the week when The Dow had triple digit losses or gains over good economic data or bad news from financial sector. Friday's report was not as bad as anticipated as they portrayed that the economy is still sagging in 2nd half of the year. The Labor Department said that jobs fell for 7th straight month to 51,000 which was less than expected but unemployment rate rose greater-than-expected 5.7%. The report came after jobless claims jumped unexpectedly to a five-year high on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management said manufacturing activity was flat in July and Commerce Department reported that building activity decline in June. Oil price also rose $1.02 to $125.10 per barrel but have retreated from an earlier spike of more than $4. The Dow fell 51.70 pts or 0.45% to 11,326.32, S&P500 fell 7.07 pts or 0.56% to 1,260.31 while Nasdaq fell 14.59 pts or 0.63% to 2,310.96.

Asian markets may open lower today following another string of weak economic data which came out of the US on Friday. With oil prices rose again, halting the decline, investors may come to think that the prospect of oil prices to drop below $100 in near term is still quite far. However, Asian markets may shrug off the negative start to the day if oil prices stabilize again and if the prospect of earnings around the region is still positive. Oil was recently traded around $125.80ish per barrel, gold traded around $911.25ish and JPY traded around 107.50ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13110 in CME compared to the close of 13125 here on Friday.

Kospi may start the day lower today and may even breach the 200 mark if investors get into selling mood at the 1st day of the trading week. Kospi was recently been battered quite bad even with regional positive boost. If Kospi managed to stay above 200 mark, it may stabilize and may even go higher later on in the day. Volatility may be high as investors are still struggling with the prospect of higher oil and more financial troubles from the US and disappointing local earnings.

Hangseng may open lower today at around 22700ish. However, with strong China markets outlook, Hangseng may even turn the decline into positive thing later on in the session as it did on Friday. Investors may already take into account the higher oil prices and they're expecting the Chinese government will enforce the economic growth in near term rather than fight inflation. With Olympic games approaching, China markets may also get a positive boost and that may help Hangseng. Hangseng may find its support at 22600 and its resistance at 23200 today.

Asian market preview 31/07/2008

2008-07-31T04:55:00.002+07:00

US markets closed sharply higher last night in a volatile trade as markets did a late rally near the closing bell. The rebound in financial sector and optimism about private job sector led the rally as bank and brokerages, many trading at multiyear lows, led the late advance. There was some relief in the market after The Fed said it would extend and expand its program to lend money to investment banks which reassured the market that banks would have cash if needed. Investors have been worried that some of Wall St's biggest names may need more capital after Merril Lynch & Co. unexpectedly announced a $5.7 billion writedown on Monday. Earlier, Automatic Data Processing said private sector employment rose by 9,000 this month and that data cheered Wall St and offset a big spike in oil prices where oil rose $4.58 to settle at $126.77. The Dow ended up by 186.13 or 1.63% to 11,583.69, S&P500 rose 21.06 pts or 1.67% to 1,284.26 while Nasdaq rose 10.10 pts or 0.44% to 2,329.72.

Asian markets may open higher today and may continue yesterday's rally on optimism that US banks will have financial aid from The Fed if needed and after US markets' strong close for 2nd straight day last night. The spike in oil prices may cause markets around the region to fluctuate but overall sentiment may stay positive for the rest of the day. Dollar gained strength against major currencies and that will help exporters around the region too. Oil was recently traded around $126.74ish per barrel, gold traded around $906.30ish and JPY traded around 108.10ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13470 in CME compared to the close of 13400 here yesterday.

Kospi may open higher today and may get stronger rally than yesterday after optimism from the US markets may help investors confidence in South Korea. The spike in oil prices may drag the market a bit but overall sentiment may stay positive after US markets closed sharply higher for 2 days in a row. Kospi may open up around 206ish and may have its resistance around 208ish and its support around 204ish.

Hangseng may open higher again today and I'll be talking about Hangseng new contract here. Since the new contract ended at 22797 yesterday, it may open up around 22900ish today and may try to breach the 23000 level today should investors get confident enough. The spike in oil may drag refiners stocks such as Sinpoec and PetroChina but may boost the biggest offshore producers CNOOC. China mainland markets may also determine the overall direction for Hangseng market today. Hangseng may find its resistance at 23200 and its support at 22700 today.

Asian market preview 29/07/2008

2008-07-29T05:41:00.005+07:00

US markets were closed sharply lower last night as investors again become anxious regarding the financial sector. Financials, which had rallied in the past few weeks, suffered the same worries about souring debts and Wall St is concerned that further withering of housing and credit markets will damage banks' balance sheets. An IMF report also added some stress to the market as they predicted continuing problems in the credit and housing markets will continue to hurt the financial industry. The IMF also said that at the moment, a bottom for housing market is not visible. The closing of branches of the 1st National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank N.A. by federal officials on Friday also adds worries for investors about the ability of some banks to stay afloat. Upcoming economic data that will be important to take note of are the first report on gross domestic product for Q2 to come out on Thursday which was predicted to rise. Employment report for June to come out on Friday and regarded as the most important economic readings of the month because of the insight into the well-being of the consumer. Unemployment is expected to rise too. The Dow plunged 239.61 pts or 2.11% to 11,131.08 and was back into bear market territory. S&P500 fell 23.29 pts or 1.86% to 1,234.37 while Nasdaq fell 46.31 pts or 2% to 2,264.22.

Asian markets may open lower yet again today and may slide further as more worries from the US markets may spill over and caused investors fears and run for safety. Oil prices rebounded last night and that may also adds more reasons for investors to selloff stocks. Investors are fearing that the slowdown in the US' economy and 'meltdown' for US banks may caused problems on the world scale. However, for countries like Indonesia, I think they are not too affected by the US as the market there are dominated by commodities. Oil was recently traded around $125ish per barrel, gold traded around $931.10ish and JPY traded around 107.45ish. Nikkei was closed at 13350 here yesterday.

Kospi may open lower today at around 204ish and may slide further as investors are becoming nervous regarding the well being of the global economy. In recent days, Kospi also find it hard to get momentum back to rally after the country reported higher GDP and higher inflation risk. It may go towards the 200 level today if investors are finding no reason to buy into stocks.

Hangseng may open lower today at around 22400ish and may slide further on fears that problems in the US are far from over and may spill over to the Asia region. However, with China's government showing that they will ease monetary tightening, selling pressure maybe reduced in Hong Kong and China markets may play a part to limit the downside pressure in the Hangseng market. Hangseng may find its support at 22000 today and its resistance at 22700.

Asian market preview 28/07/2008

2008-07-28T05:58:00.002+07:00

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.

Asian market preview 25/07/2008

2008-07-25T05:27:00.003+07:00

US markets tumbled more than 2% overnight after sales of existing homes fell more than expected and also after jobless claims shot up beyond 400,000 last week as companies slashed employments to cope with slowing economy. Financial shares had their worst drop in 8 years as investors punished them and home builders after some disappointing government reports. The optimism built over the past few sessions on good earnings reports have faded in an instant and investors were brought back down to earth. Mixed earnings from Ford Motor and Dow Chemical, which reported weaker-than-expected earnings also soured the mood of investors. Drugmakers and Amazon Inc. however posted better results for Q2. Investors were driven by profit taking and also fears that the worst is far from over after Bill Gross predicted that housing slump will cost banks and brokerages $1 trillion and we're still less than halfway over. The Dow ended lower by 283.10 pts or 2.43% to 11,349.28, S&P500 fell 29.65 pts or 2.31% to 1,252.54 while Nasdaq fell 45.77 pts or 1.97% to 2,280.11.

Asian markets may open lower today after gaining for the past few sessions. Markets around the region may open lower and fall further after skepticism resurfaced as housing slump continues in the US. Oil also have regained ground last night, gaining almost $2 back above $125 per barrel. Profit taking may dominate asian markets today as today being a Friday and investors may want to enjoy profits. Oil was recently traded around $125.61 per barrel, gold traded around $927.55 and JPY traded around 107.40ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13420 in CME compared to the close of 13565 here yesterday.

Kospi may open lower today following the sharp drop in US markets and may fall even further after the news regarding South Korean GDP which rose more than expected. GDP rose 0.8% vs an estimated of 0.7% rise this quarter on higher oil. High inflation fears may spark more concerns for investors and may provide more reasons to sell stocks today and reap some profits over the previous sessions of gains. Kospi may fall back towards 205 level if investors are taking this opportunity to get out of the market.

Hangseng may open lower following US cues overnight which indicated that the condition have not stabilize yet for US financials sector. Hangseng may open below 23000 and may go towards 22500 today if investors decided to enjoy profits ahead of the weekend. Over the past week, Hangseng have risen more than 1,000 points and I think it is the right time for investors to reap some profits before more bad news came out of the US. The drop in existing home sales in the US indicated that housing slump is far from over. China markets may also play a part in determining on how low will the market. Hangseng may find resistance at 23000 today and support at 22500.

Asian market preview 24/07/2008

2008-07-24T05:26:00.002+07:00

US markets were closed stronger again last night following the drop in oil to below $125 per barrel. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's rescue plan by the government also boosted up investors' confidence and helped the financial sector to rally further last night. Good earnings reports from AT&T and Pfizer Inc. addded more reasons for investors to buy stocks and helped make market recovery and lifted it from bear market territory. Stocks have been battered in the past few weeks, so any piece of good news will spark strong buying into that company and the whole sector. Oil prices fell 3.1% to $124.44 per barrel, dropping below $125 for the first time in six weeks, after reports saying that fuel stockpiles increased as consumption fell to the lowest in a year. Dollar rally against major currencies also pushed commodities prices lower. Investors still feared of more bad earnings to come but if oil keep sliding down further, earnings report will be secondary as investors will find more confidence with the drop in oil, earnings will improve in next quarter. The Dow rose 29.88 pts or 0.3% to 11,632.38, S&P500 rose 5.19 pts or 0.4% to 1,282.19 while Nasdaq rose 21.92 pts or 1% to 2,325.88.

Asian markets may open higher today and extend their rallies from yesterday with more positive news coming out of the US and the US markets are able to extend their rally on lower oil. More earnings optimism from the US may help extend the rally further in Asia markets too as investors might see that earnings are not as bad as what they've been anticipating in recent weeks. Oil producers may be hurting as oil prices dropped more than $20 since last week but general market sentiment may be positive with less inflationary concerns. Oil was recently traded around $124.46ish per barrel, gold traded around $920.75ish and JPY traded around 107.90ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13500 in CME compared to the close of 13425 here yesterday.

Kospi may open higher today and may extend yesterday's rally following another steep drop in oil prices and also better-than-expected earnings season that continues in the US. Investors may gain more confidence with the overall global economy as some analysts even suggested that markets may have reached its bottom. Kospi may even try the 210 level today if investors are confident enough and may go beyond that too as stocks have been battered so bad that these times can be counted as bargain hunting session.

Hangseng may open higher at around 23400ish and may rally further if investors are confident enough to buy more into stocks as oil prices decline further. More earnings optimism from China mainland and also from Hongkong itself may help boost investors to buy more stocks. Sinopec and PetroChina may rally further while CNOOC may go down as oil prices slide to below $125 per barrel. Hangseng may find its resistance at 23700 today and its support at around 23200 region.

Asian market preview 23/07/2008

2008-07-23T05:26:00.003+07:00

US markets closed sharply higher last night after oil tumbled more than $3 per barrel, bringing the decline to nearly $20 per barrel in the past week. Markets were initially in sour mood after American Express missed earnings estimate and also after Apple issued a weaker-than-expected forecast for the current quarter. However, after oil fell $3.09 to settle at $127.95 per barrel, the general markets were encouraged to rally up. Analysts are certain that many earnings report will still be bad, but if oil continue to slide down, the market in general will be boosted up and the impact of bad earnings are localized to the corresponding companies. Bargain hunting dominated the markets last night with financial sector led the way up after it had been battered for the past few weeks. Even Wachovia Corp. shot 27% higher after the stocks initially was pummeled to levels not seen in 1990s, after the company reported $8.9 billion loss because of charges and reserves for bad mortgage loans. The Dow rose 135.16 pts or 1.18% to 11,602.50, S&P500 rose 17 pts or 1.35% to 1,277.00 while Nasdaq rose 24.43 pts or 1.07% to 2,303.96. After-hours, Washington Mutual Inc. and E-Trade Financial Corp. reported losses after boosting reserves to cover bad loans.

Asian markets may open higher today following the drop in oil and rally in the US markets last night. Investors may find more optimism and more reason to buy into stock markets after oil continued its slide from last week. Investors may be hoping that with lower oil prices, companies' earnings may pick up by itself later on. Bad earnings keep coming out of the US big companies but now earnings report seem to have lost its dominance over the market in general as oil going towards $120 level. Oil was recently traded around $128.50 per barrel, gold traded around $946.45ish and JPY traded around 107.19ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13340 in CME last night compared to the close of 13095 here yesterday.

Kospi may open higher today following the new optimism found in the US caused by oil's tumble. With US$ strengthening against major currencies, exporters may rally today along with other stocks in general and financials may lead the rally. Kospi may open around 204ish and may find its resistance at 208ish today and may find its support at 203ish. Investors may still be cautious ahead of the busy earnings week in the US as with just a piece of bad news, investors may find reasons to lock in their profit.

Hangseng may open higher at around 22700ish today following the higher close in the US markets and after oil tumbled further. Oil refiners such as Sinopec and PetroChina may be boosted with lower oil prices while CNOOC may be battered as oil prices fell sharply. Financials may be boosted again today and exporters may also rally up. Hangseng may try to get to 23000 if market sentiment remains positive for the rest of the day. China markets may also play a part in determining whether the market is strong enough to get to the 23000 level today. Hangseng may find its support at 22500ish and its resistance at 23000 today.

Asian market preview 22/07/2008

2008-07-22T05:56:00.003+07:00

US markets ended the session down modestly after crude oil rebounded more then $2 to settle at $131.04 per barrel. The rise in oil offset the initial market enthusiasm after Bank of America reported better-than-expected results which raised hopes that the credit crisis is easing. With Bank of America's results, 4 of 5 biggest banks in the US have reported better-than-expected earnings which might show that the financial sector is recovering from the credit crisis. However, with oil back to trade above $130 per barrel, market is still nervous and investors are also uneasy with the rest of the earnings season. Oil went back above $130 per barrel after fears that the tension in Middle East might escalate and also fears that Hurricane Dolly might disrupt supplies at gulf of Mexico. The Dow ended the session down by 29.23 pts or 0.25% to 11,467.34, S&P500 slipped 0.68 pts or 0.05% to 1,260.00 while Nasdaq fell 3.25 pts or 0.14% to 2,279.53. After hours, American Express reported earnings that missed analysts' estimates and also Apple provided a weaker Q4 forecast which send Dow futures tumbling down more than 100 pts.

Asian markets today may open slightly lower on some negative impact from the rising oil again and also with some negative news after hours on Wall St. However, losses may be limited and stocks may still prove quite attractive with major banks reporting good earnings over in the US which showed that the credit crisis maybe nearing the end. Oil was recently traded around $130.50ish per barrel, gold traded around $967.50ish and JPY traded around 106.40ish. Nikkei futures closed at CME at 13140 yesterday compared to the close of 13005 here on Friday. Nikkei was closed for holiday yesterday and may try to play catch up today with the rest of Asian markets.

Kospi opened lower today at around 200.75 this morning. It then went down further towards 200.35 before it started its climb towards 202 level. It reached its highest at around 8 AM at 202.15 and it went back down towards 201ish at around 8.15 AM. Kospi's session maybe volatile for the rest of the day with tech sector may weigh after Apple released weaker guidance ahead. Although banks have reported better-than-expected earnings in the US, American Express results which missed estimates may weigh today.

Hangseng may open slightly lower today after rising so much yesterday and may ignite some profit taking in the session. However, with strong sentiment across the region and also stock prices which can still be considered as in good valuation at this level may still spark some buying interests for investors. Hangseng may find support at 22400 and resistance at 22800 today. China mainland markets may play a big part too today in determining whether the rally will continue or will profit taking prevail today.

Asian market preview 21/07/2008

2008-07-21T05:22:00.002+07:00

US markets ended a fabulous week mixed on Friday after disappointing results from tech giants brought investors back down to earth. Less-than-estimated loss from Citigroup Inc. pleased investors and joined Wells Fargo & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. in delivering stronger results than anticipated. However, tech giants like Google, Microsoft and AMD all reported less-than expected results and that caused selloff for those companies. More earnings from banks are expected this week and that will make investors stay on edge to brace for more bad results or if this situation is turning into a positive one. Many analysts believe that the US are still far from turning around the bear market into a bull market in current conditions. The Dow rose 49.91 pts or 0.44% to 11,496.57, S&P500 rose 0.36 pts or 0.03% to 1,260.68 while Nasdaq fell 29.52 pts or 1.28% to 2,282.78.

Asian markets may have a positive start to the week today following more upbeat earnings from the US banks and that may ignite another round of buying into stocks around the region. The lower oil price where it managed to stay below $130 per barrel may also cheer investors and may help boost the stock markets further today. However, with tech giants such as Google and Microsoft reported weak earnings, that sector may drag Asian tech counterpart too. Oil was recently traded around $129.97ish, gold trade around $964.50ish and JPY traded around 106.95ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13145 in CME compared to the close of 13005 here on Friday. Nikkei will be closed for public holiday today.

Kospi may start the day higher today following better earnings from banks in the US and lower oil prices. Tech sector may drag the market down though but the overall sentiment today may stay positive. Kospi may test the 200 mark again today but with more bank and other corporate giants earnings from the US, many investors may still choose to stay on the sidelines today. Kospi may find its resistance at 198 and 200 while its support at 194 today.

Hangseng may start the day on the positive today following the gains on Wall St and also the strength from regional markets. Lower oil prices may boost bargain hunters to hunt for stocks in current prices and more positive results from Chinese banks may boost market sentiment today. However, many investors may still be waiting on the sidelines today in anticipation of more earninngs to come out of the US this week. Hangseng may test the 22000 mark today and may well be close above that level today. It may open around 22200ish today and may find its resistance at 22400 and its support at 21800 today. Hangseng may still turn to China mainland markets for more cue and directions as to where the market want to go today.

Asian market preview 18/07/2008

2008-07-18T06:13:00.002+07:00

US markets surged for 2nd day last night as investors received double dose of good news in form of falling energy prices and good earnings report from big companies like JPMorgan Chase and United Technologies. Oil prices dropped for 3rd day in a row and was settled at $129.29, bringing the 3 day decline of more than $15 per barrel. JPMorgan Chase reported a better-than-expected earnings, although still reporting a loss in Q2 but it was better than what analysts' expected. The upbeat earnings report, the drop in oil helped the market to stage another rally and the battered financial sector was leading the way yet again. On other news, commerce dept reported construction of home and apartments rose 9.1% in June but construction for single-family home fell by 5.3% to the slowest pace in 17 years. Labor Department reported that the number of new people seeking unemployment benefits rose by 18,000 last week to 366,000 but the number was well below analysts' expectations. The Dow ended the day higher by 207.38 pts or 1.85% to 11,446.66, S&P500 rose 14.96 pts or 1.2% to 1,260.32 while Nasdaq rose 27.45 pts or 1.2% to 2,312.30. However, it seemed that the 2-day big rally maybe short-lived as Google, Merril Lynch and Microsoft reported earnings that missed analysts' forecast after hours.

Asian markets may open higher again today as oil prices tumbled for 3rd consecutive day, easing inflationary concerns. The surge in US markets may also help markets sentiment around the region today as investors may continue to collect stocks at bargain prices. However, gains around the region may be limited as fears are still there in the US' economic stability and corporate giants like Merril have started to miss earnings estimate. Oil was recently traded around $129ish per barrel, gold traded around $959ish and JPY traded around 106.20ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13185 in CME last night compared to the close of 13015 here yesterday.

Kospi may start the day higher again today and may test the 200 mark after upbeat earnings lifted US markets overnight. With oil prices tumbled to below $130 per barrel, investors may be in buying mood again and may start collecting stocks again. However, with earnings season just started, investors may still remain cautious especially after Merril, Google and Microsoft reported earnings that missed estimates in after hours trading in the US. If Kospi is able to go beyond 200, it may test the 202ish region and may find its support at 195 today.

Hangseng may start the day higher again today after unexpected good earnings lifted the US markets yet again last night. The drop in oil prices may also helped investors' mood today. However, after-hours result which reported that Merril, Google and Microsoft missed estimates may weigh on the market today. China mainland market may also play a part after they reported slower growth but inflationary pressure is stil high. Hangseng may find its resistance at 22200 today and may find its support at around 21500 today.

Asian market preview 17/07/2008

2008-07-17T05:00:00.002+07:00

US markets soared last night posting the biggest one day gain in more than 3 months. Investors are getting into panic mode in buying stocks after Wells Fargo & Co. reported better-than-expected earnings which send the stock up by more than 30%. The upbeat earnings report helped financial sector rallied last night as investors bought into the battered sector which have posted a record decline in the past 5 days. The rally was also boosted by the drop in oil prices, which have brought the oil down more than $10 in the past 2 days. Concerns about slowing economy has brought concerns that the demand for oil maybe diminished until next year. This was shown in the data that reported the US have ample oil supplies. The only negative news came from the Labor Department which reported that consumer prices shot up in June at the second fastest pace in 26 years which should remind investors that inflation still poses a threat to economic growth. The Dow shot up 276.74 pts or 2.52% to 11239.28, S&P500 rose 30.45 pts or 2.51% to 1245.36 while Nasdaq rose 69.14 pts or 3.12% to 2284.85.

Asian markets may start the day higher today following the rally in Wall St and the significant drop in oil prices to below $135 per barrel. Markets around the region may stage a significant rally today after being badly battered for the past few weeks. Financials sector may stage a rebound after the sector rallied the most in US last night. Exporters may also get some boost as Dollar gets stronger against major currencies. Bargain hunting may dominate the markets around the region today and may help to rally further. Oil was recently traded around $135ish per barrel, gold traded around $960.40ish and JPY traded around 105.19ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13000 in CME overnight, compared to the close of 12575 here yesterday.

Kospi may open with a gap today following a very strong US markets last night and may rally further as the drop in oil prices may help the market. Bargain hunters may kick in today and start buying into cheap stocks. However, the rally may not be sustained as there are still some nervousness around as the financials heavyweight in the US are due to report their earnings later on tonight. Kospi may find its resistance at 205 today.

Hangseng may open gap today following a very strong US close last night. Hangseng may open at around 21700ish today and may test the 22000 mark if bargain hunting really is dominating the market today. With oil prices drop more than $10 in the last 2 days, Hangseng maybe boosted. However, with more earnings to be reported from the US and also China GDP number to come out later on today, Hangseng's gain may be dependant on China mainland markets too today.

Asian market preview 15/07/2008

2008-07-15T05:08:00.002+07:00

US stocks ended down last night after surging almost 140 pts in early trade. The early rally came after The Fed released a news on Sunday that they're ready to help Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac if necessary. The news supposedly gave assurance for investors and bring some calm to the market. However, the positive bias in the market were erased as investors' worries regarding the health state of financial sector resurfaced. Various rumors and sell-off in regional banks pull stocks downward as investors are also worried with the upcoming Q2 earnings report which they predict that banks and financial institutions will have more sizable writedowns to report. In other news, Yahoo Inc. revealed that it had rejected Microsoft's latest attempt to acquire the online search engine in a joint proposal made by activist Carl Icahn. On the earnings front to report this week includes Intel Corp., Coca-Cola Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Citigroup Corp. Dow ended down by 45.35 pts or 0.41% to 11055.19, S&P500 fell 11.19 pts or 0.90% to 1228.30 while Nasdaq fell 26.21 pts or 1.17% to 2212.87.

Asian markets may start the day lower again today following a rollercoaster ride session yesterday. Markets around the region started the day lower only to rally up and finally ended down yesterday. The worrying financial sector in the US may prove to be hard to avoid in Asia today and selling pressure may continue today. With oil price go back up above $145 region, it may just add more reason for investors to selloff stocks today. However, if there's some positive news to come out of the region or even the US, markets may have another volatile session like yesterday. Oil was recently traded around $145.06ish per barrel, gold traded around $970.60ish and JPY traded around 106.25ish. Nikkei futures closed at 12970 in CME compared to the close of 13055 here yesterday.

Kospi may start the day lower again today after rebounding late last week and the selloff continue yesterday. If investors are becoming even more nervous with the situation, Kospi may go back down below 200 region and towards 197ish region today. However, if there's some piece of positive news, it may rebounded back up towards 202ish region today. Yesterday, Kospi was lifted after POSCO gave out a positive forecast for 2nd half of the year.

Hangseng may start the day lower today after touching a high of 22380 yesterday. Volatility is expected to be high again today as investors are becoming more worried regarding the health of financial sector in the US. A rally in China mainland markets yesterday have also failed to boost stocks in Hong Kong as investors are becoming more nervous in the upcoming earnings season from the US. Hangseng may find its support at 21700 and may find its resistance at 22100ish today. Hopefully, some good news will come out of the China mainland and may give Hangseng a boost.

Asian market preview 14/07/2008

2008-07-14T05:12:00.002+07:00

US markets ended the week lower on Friday amid fresh concerns regarding financial sector especially Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The fate of the 2 institutions is being watched carefully as they hold guarantees for about $5 trillion worth of mortgages or about half the outstanding mortgages in the US. Stocks fluctuated with reports saying that the Fed could aid both institutions. The rally in oil also give reasons for investors to let go of their stocks on Friday after oil go back above $147 per barrel during the session. Volatility was high in the session as the Dow dropped more than 250 pts at one time, then it briefly touched the positive side before going back down again. In economic news, US trade deficit narrowed in May as exports, including industrial supplies and consumer goods climbed to all time high. Commerce Dept said growing exports drove trade gap down to $58.8 billion or 1.2% decrease from April. The Dow ended down by 128.48 pts or 1.14% to 11100.54, S&P500 fell 13.90 pts or 1.11% to 1239.49 while Nasdaq fell 18.77 pts or 0.83% to 2239.08.

Asian markets may open lower today following US markets' tumble on Friday caused by the growing concerns about credit market and the stability of US financial institutions. Exporters may be hit after US$ weakened against major currencies and stocks may go down further after oil hit fresh records of above $147 per barrel on Friday. However, the drop may be limited as investors may try to get bargain prices on stocks on optimism that the earnings for Asian companies are not going to be so bad. Oil was recently traded at $144.30ish per barrel, gold traded at $963.85ish and JPY traded around 106.40ish. Nikkei futures closed at 12950 in CME compared to the close of 12935 here on Friday.

Kospi may open lower today after staging a rebound on Friday. With oil go back above $140 per barrel, airlines may be hit again as concerns of high fuel will cut profit may hurt investors' confidence. Kospi may go back down towards 196ish but bargain hunters may limit the drop and drive Kospi back up again. Volatility is expected to be high too as mixed news came out of the US and investors may want to watch closely for this week's financials earnings to come out of the US.

Hangseng may open lower today at around 22000 and may go back below 22000 if investors decided that the rally on Friday is a bit premature. Ever growing concerns about the US credit market and also the state of financial institutions in the US may drive market lower. Exporters and oil refiners may push market down further on profit concerns. However, investors may want to see China's mainland markets too to see how they're performing and to see if Asian markets still have enough reason for a rally. Banks' earnings from China remains positive and the outlook of other sector seems to be doing okay which will give investors reason to buy. Hangseng may find its support at 21700 and its resistance at 22300 today.

Asian market preview 11/07/2008

2008-07-11T05:09:00.002+07:00

US markets were managed to close in a positive territory last night after a volatile session. The multi-billion merger deal between Dow Chemical Co. and rival Rohm and Haas Co. provided reasons for investors to buy into shares last night and slightly ignore concerns about financial sector and energy costs. Shares of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae fell further last night, 22% and 13.8% respectively on concerns that they may have to sell more new shares to compensate for losses from the housing slump. Comments by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson saying that government can't be expected to bail out troubled financial companies sent most investment banks and insurance companies tumbling. The rebound in oil prices also capped the gains in the US markets as oil gained $5 after Iran tested another missile and more supply disruptions in Nigeria is feared. Labor Department reported that new application for unemployment fell 58,000 to 346,000 but continuing claims rose, indicating lingering weakness in the labor market. The Dow finished higher by 81.58 pts or 0.73% to 11229.02, S&P500 rose by 8.70 pts or 0.70% to 1253.39 while Nasdaq rose 22.96 pts or 1.03% to 2257.85.

Asian market may start the day higher today and may continue yesterday's rebound after US markets showed a little bit of buying power last night. However, with oil rose back above $141 per barrel, gains may be limited on inflationary concerns. Investors may not want to hold positions through the weekend in these times of uncertainties. Selling pressure may still be there after comments made by US' Treasury Secretary where they may have to allow financial companies to fail. Oil was recently traded around $141.90ish per barrel, gold traded around $945.75ish and JPY traded around 107.05ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13130 in CME compared to the close of 13080 here yesterday.

Kospi may open higher today following Wall Street's slightly positive cues. BoK's decision to leave rate unchanged at 5% yesterday sparked a late recovery for Kospi and it may continue on today. However, with oil back above $141 level, gains may be limited and profit taking may take place in these volatile times. Investors may want to cash in ahead of the weekend and before GE's Q2 results to come out tonight in the US. Kospi may find its resistance at around 203 and its support at around 196.

Hangseng may open the day higher today after staging a rebound yesterday. Hangseng managed to stage a 500 pts rally in the first session yesterday but was cut in 2nd session after Chinese market ended the day lower. Today, Hangseng may open around 21900ish and may go back up above 22000. However, Chinese markets may prove to be another test for Hangseng and it may follow the direction of Chinese markets to go up or go back down. The rebound in oil prices may also limit today's gain in the Hangseng market. Hangseng may find its support at 21700 and its resistance at 22200ish.

Asian market preview 10/07/2008

2008-07-10T05:23:00.003+07:00

US markets tumbled last night led by financials a day after that sector helped the markets to a big rally. Financial sectors tumbled on concerns that the credit crisis is far from over and more and more banks and lenders are needing more capital to support its existence. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were among those hardest hit with each falling 24% and 13% respectively. A better-than-expected earnings Q2 earnings result from Alcoa Inc also did not help lift the mood of investors as they feared that more bad news to come from the Q2 earnings report. Oil prices also fluctuated yesterday after Iran fired a test missile and was settled at $136.05 per barrel. US markets have officially entered bear market territory yesterday after tumbling more than 2% each. In these times of uncertainties, it is hard to be optimistic about stocks and even tech sector get hit after analyst put a negative note on Cisco. The Dow ended down by 236.77 pts or 2.08% to 11147.44 after rising more than 150 pts a day before, S&P500 fell 29.01 pts or 2.28% to 1244.69 while Nasdaq fell 59.55 pts or 2.60% to 2234.89.

Asian markets may open lower again today following a rebound which was fueled by US markets yesterday. Today, investors may turn sour again on stock markets as more fear and uncertainties came up from the US last night. The prolonged credit crisis problem in the US may cut financial sector's valuation by half. Investors may also leave from Asian markets as most Asian countries rely on export to the US and with the economic slowdown, exports may be hit hard. Financials may also be pressurised and high oil prices may still weigh down on investors. Oil was recently traded around $136ish per barrel, gold traded around $927ish and JPY traded around 106.88ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13050 in CME, compared to the close of 13165 here yesterday. Nikkei may close below 13000 level today.

Kospi may open lower today and may extend its losses after closing at 14-month low yesterday. It may penetrate the 195 mark and may go toward the 190ish mark. BoK is expected to keep rate on hold at its highest level. LG display forecast 3rd quarter earnings may decline more than analysts' estimate as prices of LCD TV declines. Investors have been dumping stocks and although the market is oversold, there seems to be no end to the selling until there are some positive news for the market. Foreigners have been net sellers for the past few weeks.

Hangseng may open lower today after staging the biggest gain for the past 3 month yesterday. It may open around 21600-21700 today and may even erase the previous day's gains. China mainland markets may still be the driving force and if it keep on rising sharply, Hangseng may be saved from a sharp fall today. Hangseng may find support at around 21500 and a very stron support at 21000. It may find its resistance at 22000 today. The previous day's sharp rally may be a catalyst and reason for investors to dump stocks and have a profit taking session today.

Asian market preview 09/07/2008

2008-07-09T05:20:00.002+07:00

US markets closed sharply higher last night as oil fell for 2nd straight day, bringing the drop to $9. Oil dropped more than $5 last night to close at $136.04 per barrel. The market was relieved to know that The Fed might extend its lending efforts to investment banks and that boosted government-backed lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to rebound from previous day's steep losses. Meanwhile, National Association of Realtors reported on Tuesday that pending sales of US homes fell by 4.7% in May from previous month. However, all the optimism from the drop in oil and other commodity prices, the prospect of lenders to raise fresh capital have all helped the US markets to rally and leave the Dow 19.6% off from record high. More optimism is going to be shown on Wednesday as Alcoa kicks off the earnings season with results beating expectation. The Dow rose 152.25 or 1.36% to 11383.21, S&P500 rose 21.39 pts or 1.71% to 1273.70 while Nasdaq rose 51.10 pts or 2.28% to 2294.42.

Asian markets are set for a rebound today at the open following US markets sharp rally and the sharp fall in energy prices and other commodity such as corn. The sharp fall around the region yesterday may help the rebound today as bargain hunting may kick in after benchmark around Asia touched its lowest level since March. The drop in oil prices may help stocks at general but may drag down oil producers and also other commodity related stocks. Oil was recently traded around $135.90ish, gold traded around $917.15ish and JPY traded around 107.40ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13300 in CME compared to the close of 13030 here yesterday.

Kospi may open higher today and may finally get its long-awaited rebound today following the losses it suffered for the past 2 weeks, leading it to its lowest level since March. Kospi may open above the 200 mark today and may extend its rally towards 205 today with optimism finally showing in the US and government's intervention in preventing the Won to fall further. BoK is doing whatever they can to curb inflation without raising interest rate and investors may get more confident today as stocks are considered to be a bargain at these levels.

Hangseng may open higher today following a steep loss yesterday. It may even go back towards the 21800 level again today or may even try to break the 22000 level if China markets are continuing its rebound today. Bargain hunters may help the market to stage its rebound and with oil back to around $135 level, oil refiners giants such as Sinopec and Petrochina may lead Hangseng higher. Financial sector may also lead the rebound here today with more banks posted optimism in their Q2 earnings. Hangseng may find its support at 21000 and its resistance at 22000 today.

Asian market preview 08/07/2008

2008-07-08T05:01:00.002+07:00

US markets slipped yet again last night after opening stronger on the drop in oil prices. More concerns about financial sector as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were reported that they may need to raise more capital sent the Dow to its lowest since 2006 at one point. The $4 pullback in oil price did little to comfort the market as the high energy prices have 'destroyed' market confidence in the past few weeks. Comments from SF Fed, saying that the financial markets remained fragile and it will take time for conditions to improve but things could get worse before they get better, also added to markets' concerns and nervousness. Ahead of the earnings season, financial sector once again dragged down the market with banking stocks fell more than 2% each. The Dow fell 56.58 pts or 0.5% to 11231.96. It went as high as 11399ish and as low as 11120ish during the day. S&P500 fell 10.59 pts or 0.84% to 1252.31 and Nasdaq fell 2.06 pts or 0.09% to 2243.32.

Asian markets may be in dilemma today after staging a rebound yesterday. Lower oil prices and other commodities such as metals may drive that sector lower today, but with the prospect of good earnings ahead of the earnings season, markets may continue to rally following yesterday's. Financial sector may yet again be boosted on prospect that bank will post huge profits last quarter. However, nervousness may still be in the air ahead of the US earnings season and the grim outlook of the earnings for US companies. Oil was recently traded around $141.40ish, gold traded around $923.90ish and JPY traded around 107.05ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13400 in CME compared to the close of 13365 here yesterday.

Kospi may open the day lower yet again after staging a mild rebound yesterday. Concerns over inflation may still hurt investors' confidence but the pullback in oil prices may boost the market a little. Volatility may be high yet again as Kospi approaching its lowest point since March with bargain hunters may start kicking in as they judge the stocks prices are quite cheap in valuation right now. Kospi may find its support at 200 and its resistance at around 205.

Hangseng may start the day lower after US markets fell again last night. However, strong market sentiment from mainland China over optimism on financial sector may boost Hangseng yet again. China rebounded almost 5% yesterday and Hangseng rebounded more than 2%. If China market continue to rally today, Hangseng may follow. However with earnings season to kick off in the US later on tonight, investors may want to wait and see how the US economy is faring. Hangseng may find its support at 21500 and its resistance at 22200ish today.

Asian market preview 07/07/2008

2008-07-07T03:40:00.002+07:00

US markets were closed for Indpendence Day holiday on Friday. European markets which were opened on that day declined to end the week lower which were the same to most Asian markets which was opened on Friday. US markets are expecting more data in form of Q2 corporate earnings besides more economic data and also higher oil prices. Earnings season will kick off unofficially on Tuesday starting with Alcoa Inc and also heavyweight GE to report on Friday. Investors will be watching these earnings report and see how the economical slowdown is going to affect these companies. Companies' target earnings have been lowered dramatically by analysts and investors are expecting that these lowered targets may be proved quite hard to beat as well. National Association of Realtors will be reporting on pending sales of existing homes on Tuesday, Labor Department to report its weekly reading on unemployment claims on Thursday, University of Michigan will release its preliminary reading on July consumer sentiment and Commerce Dept will be reporting US trade deficit on same day. Wall St finished last week with another decline, with Dow down 0.51%, S&P500 down 1.21% and Nasdaq fell 3.01%.

Asian markets may open the start of the trading week rather flat near Friday's closing numbers today with no cues from the US on Friday. Investors may start trading slightly higher on bargain hunting as markets have came down significantly for the past month. However, the higher sentiment on the markets may not last as investors may also be waiting for more solid grounds before making heavy bets on the stock markets. With oil approaching $150 per barrel, investors may find it hard to get the confidence they need. Oil was closed around $144.20 per barrel on Friday, gold was traded around $933.15 and JPY traded around 106.70ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13255 here on Friday.

Kospi may open flat today with upward bias in the early trading hours. However, more selling pressure maybe expected today as investors may still want to unload stocks to wait on the BoK's rate decision also to see how the US earnings season will start off. Local investors may follow foreigners if they are still selling stocks. Kospi may find its support at 200 today and its strong support level is at March's lowest level of 196ish. Trading volumes may be thin but volatility may be high with bargain hunters may still come in at around these levels.

Hangseng may start the day rather flat today with no cues from the US markets. Investors may turn to Chinese markets for direction and Chinese banks may continue its rebound from Friday with more optimism that their earnings will be higher in Q2. However, selling pressure may mount up later on in the day as investors may choose to wait and see along the sidelines for more certainties from the US and globally. Hangseng may find its support at around 21200ish and may approach 21000 in the near term. 21700 may become quite a resistance for Hangseng. Trading volumes may be thin but volatility is expected to remain high today.

Asian market preview 04/07/2008

2008-07-04T05:20:00.004+07:00

US markets ended mixed on a shortened trading session last night after more mild economic data. The Institute for Supply Management said that its index of service sector activity fell to 48.2 from 51.7 in May. From the labor department, unemployment rate held steady at 5.5% last month but the government also reported 62,000 jobs lost in June, which was close to economists' forecast. Investors are nervous about the strength of the job market because, if more people lose their jobs, consumer spending will be less. Oil also touched fresh record high last night when it touched a high of $145.85 per barrel before settled at $145.29 per barrel, a record close. Investors will be looking at fresh insight next week with the arrival of corporate quarterly number. Alcoa Inc will unofficially start the earnings season and monthly sales report also due next week from retailers. The Dow ended the session higher by 73.03 pts or 0.65% to 11288.54, S&P500 rose 1.38 pts or 0.11% to 1262.90 while Nasdaq fell 6.08 pts or 0.27% to 2245.38. The US markets will be closed tonight for the 4th of July Independence Day holiday.

Asian markets may open slightly firmer today following US mixed close last night and slightly mild jobs number from the US. However, the gains may not hold as oil price touched fresh highs and if it keeps rising in the Asian session, investors would not like it. Asian markets have been oversold in recent weeks and some technical rebound may be in place today. Oil was recently traded around $145.20ish per barrel, gold traded around $933.65ish and JPY traded around 106.70ish. Nikkei futures closed at 13380 in CME last night compared to the close of 13180 here yesterday.

Kospi may open the day higher today after losing for the past 2 weeks. Trading volume may be thin today and hopefully it can sustain its gains until the closing time today. The first resistance may be at around 210ish today and if it can breach that level, it is possible for Kospi to get back towards 212ish and even 215ish later on. However, the gains may not hold as investors are still nervous as oil prices still at record highs. South Korea is still waiting on BoK's rate decision to come out next week.

Hangseng may open slightly higher today following a mixed session in the US and the shortened trading week over there. It may find its first strong resistance at around 21700ish today and may find its support at 21000. Investors may still take cues from the Chinese markets and see how the market over there is doing with the ever rising oil prices. Hopefully the market can sustain its gains until the end of the day but more nervousness among the investors may still weigh on the market.

Asian market preview 03/07/2008

2008-07-03T04:54:00.002+07:00

US markets have officially entered the bear market territory after plunging yet again last night. Record high oil price helped the market to accelerate its losses in late afternoon ahead of a long weekend in the US. Oil settled at $143.57 per barrel after report showed that oil supplies fell more than expected and the rising tension in Middle East and rose further to $144.32 per barrel in after hours trading. Investors also cautious ahead of 4th of July holiday and employment data to be released later on tonight. Slightly positive news came on Wednesday after Commerce Department said that factory orders rose by 0.6% in May. GM stocks plunged 15% on fears that the company may face bankcruptcy. The Dow fell 166.75 pts or 1.46% to 11215.51, its lowest close since August 2006. S&P500 fell 23.39 pts or 1.82% to 1261.52 and Nasdaq fell 53.51 pts or 2.32% to 2251.46.

Asian markets may open lower today and may extend its losing streak yet again for most markets. High crude oil price may weigh on the markets and may cause investors to sell more stocks on fears that global economic slowdown may hurt companies' earnings. Japan's Nikkei experienced the longest losing streak in more than 40 years yesterday after the market closed lower for 10th consecutive sessions. Oil was recently traded around $143.97ish per barrel, gold traded around $942.70ish and JPY traded around 105.80ish. Nikkei futures closed at 13220 in CME compared to the close of 13425 here yesterday.

Kospi may open lower today and may extend its losses following bad inflation report yesterday and on concern that BoK may have to raise rates when they meet later next week. Kospi may test the 205 level and may even go further towards the 200 level if investors have really turned pessimistic. Volatility may be quite high again today if bargain hunters start to come in and just buy cheap stocks. Airline companies may post big drops again after oil traded at around $144ish per barrel.

Hangseng may open lower today at around 21500ish and may even test the 21000 level today if there's no positive sentiment to come out of the China mainland market. As usual, Hangseng may trade closely related to the Chinese markets and may take its cues to where the market is heading daily. It seems that China markets may have another rough session again today and it may cause Hangseng to go down further. Volatility may be high again as stocks is seen quite cheap now and the valuation of the stocks is quite fair. Hangseng may find its support at 21200 and may find its resistance at around 21900 today.

Asian market preview 02/07/2008

2008-07-02T05:48:00.002+07:00

US markets started the 2nd half with an erratic session but managed a modest gain last night after mixed news made it clear that the US is still in deep economic problems but may have some positive outlook. Markets started a bit higher but then plunged down, 150 pts for the Dow after oil touched new intraday high of above $143 per barrel. Mounting tensions in the Middle East and fear of supply shortage have caused oil to keep rising. The ISM report also showed a disappointment in manufacturing in June but it also showed strong exports for US factories. The piece of good news came from GM, while it reported a decline in sales, but it came in better than analysts' forecasts and GM beat Toyota in Detroit area gave a reason for investors to buy. Technical rebound also bound to happen after the markets have been sold off heavily in the past month. The Dow ended up by 32.25 pts or 0.28% to 11382.26, S&P500 rose 4.91 pts or 0.38% to 1284.91 while Nasdaq rose 11.99 or 0.52% to 2304.97.

Asian markets may start the day higher today following a slight upward momentum in the US markets last night. However, as we have seen the past few sessions, although markets may start higher in the morning, it seems that it can't hold onto its gains for the rest of the day due to the spiking oil prices and more uncertainties regarding the global economy. Oil was recently traded at around $141.69is per barrel, gold traded around $939ish and JPY traded around 106ish. Nikkei futures closed at 13475 in CME last night compared to the close of 13275 here yesterday.

Kospi may open higher again today at around 215-216ish but may not hang onto its gains as the market's still nervous regarding its inflation data and the central bank decision on rates. Trading is expected to be volatile like yesterday as investors may seek for bargain stocks but nervousness may cause investors to sell stocks.

Hangseng may open higher after its one day holiday yesterday at around 22100-22200ish today. However, with high oil and the pessimism in China mainland market, Hangseng may have a bumpy day today. Volatility may be high again with bargain hunters may stop Hangseng to fall too deep. Hangseng may find its support at around 21700 and its resistance at 22300 today.

Asian market preview 30/06/2008

2008-06-30T02:37:00.003+07:00

US markets were tumbling down yet again on Friday and The Dow is on the brink of a bear market after shedding more than 100 pts for 2 consecutive days. Negative sentiment from investors came after more bad news from the financial sector. Morgan Stanley is being reviewed by Moody's for a possibe downgrade and there were reports saying that Merril Lynch might have to write off nearly $6 billion of risky debts. In addition to these troubling news, investors also watched how oil marched higher and touched a record high of $142.99 per barrel. Economic data released on Friday came out slightly better but could not boost investors' mood. Commerce Dept said that spending rose 0.8% in May, as taxpayers received their stimulus checks. Personal income also rose 1.9%, much better than anticipated. June's index of consumer sentiment came in at 56.4, a bit lower than May's and below analysts' estimate. On Friday, the Dow fell 106.91 pts or 0.93% to 11346.51, S&P500 fell 4.77 pts or 0.37% to 1278.38 while Nasdaq fell 5.74 pts or 0.25% to 2315.63.

Asian markets may open lower yet again on Monday following more bad news which came out of the US on Friday which caused the US markets to have another rough session. Investors' sentiment may be low and they may not want to enter the market yet although the current share prices can be considered quite low. Many Asian markets will be watching the inflation report to come out this week in their countries and also the rate decisions to be made by respective central banks. The ever rising oil prices may also weigh further on investors as higher oil means higher inflation. Oil was recently traded around $140.20ish per barrel, gold traded around $926.70ish and JPY traded around 106.15ish. Nikkei futures closed at 13540 in CME compared to the close of 13440 here on Friday.

Kospi may open lower today at around 215ish following the string of bad news to come out of the US on Friday. However, buying power may slightly emerge for long-term players if the index fell too much. Cautious trading may be in focus this week when valuable economic data to come out from South Korea.

Hangseng may also open lower today at below 22000. However, as we have seen on Friday, buying power have slightly emerged from investors as share prices look quite attractive now at current level. China market may also play a big part to determine whether Hangseng have the strength to rise or should it fall further. Hangseng may find its support at 21700ish and its resistance at 22200ish today.

Asian market preview 27/06/2008

2008-06-27T05:07:00.002+07:00

US markets tumbled overnight after downgrades in automakers, financials and bad earnings in tech sector which caused the markets to dive around 3%. The surge in oil and the declining in dollar also played a part in last night's selloff. GM was downgraded to sell by Goldman Sachs on fears that they'll be facing cash crunch next year amid slowing US sales. In the financial sector, Citigroup plunged after analyst gave it a sell rating and warned investors to expect less from the brokerage sector. The tech sector, which was considered a safe play during uncertain times was also hit last night as RIMM missed earnings and disappointing forecasts from both RIMM and Oracle showed that the tech sector is also vulnerable. Oil surge more than $5 during last night's session on comments from OPEC President who was quoted that oil could rise between $150 to $170 per barrel before pulling back later this year. The fears that Libya may cut oil production also became a factor which made oil go past $140 to get to its highest at $140.39 before closing at a record $139.64 per barrel. All these bad news overshadowed some good news which came out from the National Association of Realtors which reported the sales of existing homes edged up 2% in May, and some analysts believe that this was the start of an upward trend in home sales. Jobless claims remains unchanged at 384k compared to last week. The Dow plunged 358.41 pts or 3.03% to 11453.42, S&P500 fell 38.82 pts or 2.94% to 1283.15 while Nasdaq dived 79.89 pts or 3.33% to 2321.37. S&P500 have breached the psychological 1300 level.

Asian markets are expected to open lower today following a string of bad news which hit the US markets overnight and also the surge in oil prices to trade around $140ish. The weakening dollar may not help Asian countries where some of them are major exporters to the US. Financials, tech, autos, transport, oil refiners may be hit today but pharmaceuticals and drug makers may shine yet again today. Selloff in the Asian region may also get worse as today being a Friday may urge investors to sell more. Oil was recently traded around $138.74ish per barrel, gold traded around $914.90ish and JPY traded around 106.90ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13555 in CME compared to the close of 13785 here yesterday.

Kospi may open lower today at around 217ish today and may extend losses later on in the day. Trading may be volatile as investors who are skeptical will sell their stocks while there are also some bargain hunters who take this opportunity to buy stocks at a sale price. However, selling pressure may be higher today and Kospi may even test the 215 level. Tech and exporters may be hit hard today and financials may also get some selling pressure.

Hangseng may open lower today at around 22000 and may even try to breach the 22000 to go lower today. Mainland China market may not help Hangseng today and may even drag Hangseng further down with oil traded near record high and this caused inflation fears to escalate. Oil refiners such as Sinopec and PetroChina may be hit hard with high oil prices eroding their profit. Exporters may also hit hard as more uncertainties in the US markets cause investors to seek safety. Hangseng may find its support at 21700ish and its resistance at 22200ish today.

Asian market preview 26/06/2008

2008-06-26T04:48:00.004+07:00

US markets ended the session moderately higher after The Fed leaves interest rate unchanged as expected and issued a mixed assessment of the economy. The Fed stated that downside risks to growth have diminished somewhat and the upside risks to inflation and inflation expectation have increased. It was the first time in 10 months that The Fed leave rates unchanged. The Fed is at a crossroad, while household spending seems to be improving, job market and home prices are still tumbling. If The Fed raise rates prematurely, it may have a very negative effect on the broader economy and the recovery process. Crude oil price declined $2.45 to settle at $134.55 per barrel. Gold prices also slid while dollar weakened against major currencies. After hours, RIMM reported lower-than-expected revenue and EPS and gave out mixed guidance of 2nd half of the year and this sent the stock tumbling 9% in after-hours trading. The Dow ended marginally higher by 4.40 pts or 0.04% to 11811.83, after rising more than 100 pts after Fed's announcement. S&P500 rose 7.68 pts or 0.58% to 1321.97 while Nasdaq rose 32.98 pts or 1.39% to 2401.26.

Asian markets may open higher following a good performance in the US markets and after oil dropped overnight on the rise in US stockpiles. The Fed's decision to leave rates unchanged may help boost markets as it showed that The Fed is still waiting to see more recovery in the economic growth. However, a slightly weaker dollar may weigh on the exporter side today. Crude oil was recently traded around $134.48ish, gold traded around $884.60ish and JPY traded around 107.77ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 14000 in CME compared to the close of 13950 here yesterday.

Kospi may open higher at around 222ish today following a slightly stronger US market close. Oil sensitive stocks such as airlines may be boosted after oil dropped more than $2 per barrel. Market may not rise too much though as the market have already priced in on The Fed's unchanged rate decision and oil is still quite high around $134ish per barrel. Volatility may be quite high today as there are still more uncertainties in the broader economy and especially after RIMM gave out a disappointing report in after-hours US market.

Hangseng may open higher today at around 22800ish following a stronger US close overnight. Lower oil prices may help boost stocks in Sinopec and PetroChina, the 2 largest oil refiners. Hangseng may yet again follow cues from China mainland markets which will determine how strong the market will rise today or if the market may go back down again if China's market go down. Volatility may be high as bargain hunters may want to buy but with futures contract ending tomorrow, market may be quite erratic. Hangseng may find its support at 22500 today and its first strong resistance at 23000.

Asian market preview 24/06/2008

2008-06-24T05:33:00.002+07:00

US markets ended mostly lower last night after oil prices rose and financials hit new lows in 5 years. The growing credit concerns has made investors to selloff financial shares and advisors also encourage investors to dump those shares. Investors also had little reason to buy shares ahead of The Fed's 2 day meeting starting from today. With lack of economic data, oil prices have become the main focus for investors and the rise of oil means more bad news for the overall economy as rising inflation means that The Fed is going to do something real soon. Oil price climbed $1.38 to settle at $136.74 even though the Saudis pledged to boost production by 200,000 barrels a day. The only sector which was boosted was oil players such as Exxon Mobil and Haliburton Co. while financials and airlines declined significantly. The Dow ended the day flat, losing 0.33 pts or less than 0.01% to 11842.36, S&P500 ended flat too, rising 0.07 pts or 0.01% to 1318.00 while Nasdaq fell 20.35 pts or 0.85% to 2385.74.

Asian markets may start the day flat today with more downward bias as oil prices keep rising and more sluggish outlook on the US financials. The Fed's 2 day meeting also provide reasons for investors to sit on the sidelines and wait for the news to come. The good sector to play in today is energy sector with oil nearing $137 mark again. Oil was recently traded around $137.38ish per barrel, gold traded around $882.50ish and JPY was around 107.84ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 13905 in CME compared to the close of 13865 here yesterday. A rebound seems quite likely too which may cause the market to be volatile today after Asian markets lost grounds for the past week.

Kospi may open flat today following a loss yesterday and may trade in thin volume as there are lack of economic data out of the US and ahead of the Fed's 2 day policy meeting. Oil prices may become the main focus as the rise in oil means more trouble for airlines and transport shares, as well as exporters. However, bargain hunters may kick in and may cause Kospi to trade higher too during the day and may cause quite a volatility in today's session.

Hangseng may open flat around 22700 today after a highly volatile session yesterday. The market may look for directions from the China markets as there are lack of direction from the US. Oil may also play a significant part for CNOOC, Sinopec and PetroChina today as the rise in oil benefit a company while hurting others. Volatility is expected to be high again today with more bargain hunting to be expected but the overall market still looks gloomy.

Asian market preview 23/06/2008

2008-06-23T05:25:00.002+07:00

US markets were sent tumbling down and Dow was closed at its lowest level since March 17 on Friday on renewed credit concerns and after oil rebounded on increased tension in Israel. Downgrade in automakers also made investors to sell stocks in the Friday afternoon and Treasury prices rose as investors seeks safe haven. Merril Lynch downgrade of regional banks added to the market's anxiety after Citigroup's warning of more writedowns in Q2. Washington Mutual Inc. announced 1200 job cuts and Moody's investors service decided late in the day to downgrade both insurers. Concerns over further tensions between Israel and Iran added investors' worries and pushed crude oil higher. Crude oil jumped $2.69 to settle at $134.62. The Dow ended down by 220.40 pts or 1.83% to 11842.69, S&P500 fell 24.90 pts or 1.85% to 1317.93 while Nasdaq fell 55.97 pts or 2.27% to 2406.09. For the week, Dow fell 3.78%, S&P500 lost 3.1% and Nasdaq fell 1.97%.

Asian markets may open lower again today following Wall St tumble on Friday on renewed credit market concerns and also after oil spiked up. However, there may be a ray of hope after Saudi Arabia said that they're ready to pump more oil if needed and a lower oil prices may stimulate buying opportunity in the markets when the markets get too low. Saudi Arabia's capacity will be 12.5 million barrels per day by the end of 2009 and may get to 15 million if necessary to get a reasonable price on oil. Oil was recently traded at around $134.90ish per barrel, gold traded at $903.70ish and JPY traded around 107.40ish. Nikkei futures closed at 13750 in CME compared to the close of 13920 here on Friday.

Kospi may open lower today at around 219-220ish and may fall further if investors decided to sell stocks amid more uncertainties in the US markets. Exporters may drag the market lower as US$ weakened against major currencies. However, with Saudi's new oil pledge, lower oil prices are in sight and investors may see it as opportunity to get into the market when the market is oversold.

Hangseng may open lower again today at around 22400ish after the US markets tumbled on Friday. If investors see this opportunity to do a selloff, the market may even test the 22000 mark, but if China mainland markets continue to rebound, Hangseng may have limited losses today. Hangseng may find its first strong support at 22200 and its resistance at 22700 today.

Asian market preview 20/06/2008

2008-06-20T03:53:00.002+07:00

US markets closed moderately higher last night after oil plunged almost $5 per barrel. The day was filled with mixed news, with Citigroup saying that a "substantial" amount of writedowns on bad debts are still to come and also after the Labor department reported less than expected declines in jobless claims. On the positive side, China will raise its fuel prices today and that might curb demand for fuel and sparked a selloff in the oil market. Regional bank BB&T Corp. said it expects to increase its dividend this year and the news also sent market higher. Tech sector got the biggest boost today after Broadcom Corp. expected higher earnings and caused techs to rally. Research In Motion also traded at its highest price at around $147ish per share. The Dow ended up by 34.03 pts or 0.28% to 12063.09 after plunging to its lowest level since March 17, S&P500 rose 5.02 pts or 0.38% to 1342.83 while Nasdaq jumped 32.36 pts or 1.33% to 2462.07.

Asian markets may open higher today following the drop in oil and a mild rebound in US equity markets. Tech sector also may get a boost today after a rally in the US last night. Exporters and Transportation may also be boosted on stronger dollar and lower oil prices. Oil was recently traded around $131.80ish, gold traded around $897.65ish and JPY traded around 108ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 14295 in CME compared to the close of 14120 here yesterday. The Nikkei 225 was closed at 14130.17 yesterday or down 2.23%.

Kospi may start the day higher today at around 225-226ish and may climb further on lower oil prices. Tech sector may also boost the overall market and exporters may also climb today. Investors may find new optimism on lower oil as consumer may want to spend more. However, gains may be limited as banks in the US are still quite nervous and predicting that there're more writedowns to come and also the Fed's comments saying that they need to fight inflation may cause some investors to think that The Fed may need to raise interest rates.

Hangseng may start the day higher today at around 23000-23100ish and may climb further if China markets also give a boost to the Hong Kong market. Lower oil may send refiners up but oil producers down today. If China markets can find some solid ground and get a nice rebound, Hangseng may be boosted further. However, today being a Friday, gains may seems to be limited as investors may find excuses not to enter market ahead of the weekend with worries that the Chinese governtment may do something over the weekend. Hangseng may find its resistance at around 23200ish and may find its support at 22700ish today.

Asian market preview 18/06/2008

2008-06-18T05:18:00.002+07:00

US markets was closed down last night after a troubling reading on wholesale inflation and after Goldman Sachs said that banks will have to raise $65 billion in new capital to cover losses. The economic data showed that the steep run-up in energy costs is affecting businesses. The Labor Department said its index of producer prices jumped 1.4% in May and the core PPI rose by a mild 0.2%. Goldman Sachs however, posted a better-than-expected earnings but banking stocks tumbled after Goldman remained cautious about regional banks and said they needed to raise more money. The Government also reported a 3.3% decline in May home construction and a 1.3% dip in building permits, signs of persistent weakness in the struggling housing market. Another report also showed a 0.2% dip in industrial production in May, following a 0.7% decline in previous month. The Dow ended down by 108.78 pts or 0.89% to 12160.30, S&P500 fell 9.21 pts or 0.68% to 1350.93 while Nasdaq fell 17.05 pts or 0.69% to 2457.73.

Asian markets may open lower today following a quite bad US data which came out last night regarding inflation problems and also troubles in banking and housing sectors. The drop may be the catalyst for investors to get out of the market after having quite a good few sessions in the last few days and enjoy some profits. Oil prices dropped last night but was still in the high territory around $134ish per barrel. Banking sector maybe affected today and profit taking session may drive market lower further. Oil was recently traded around $133.40ish per barrel, gold traded around $881.50ish and JPY traded around 107.90ish. Nikkei futures closed at 14435 in CME compared to the close of 14450 here yesterday.

Kospi may start the day lower at around 223-224ish today and may continue lower on lower US markets overnight. Lower oil prices may limit the downward pressure for the market though but overall sentiment may still remains negative. The Kospi may find its support at 221ish and may find its resistance at 227ish today. With negative readings out in the US, investors may still sit on the sidelines and wait for better days to go into the market.

Hangseng may start the day lower today at around 23000ish and may find it hard for the market to go up further today. Investors may take the chance to have a profit taking session and it may drive the market lower further towards 22700ish today. Market may also still look at China markets for more direction as to where the market may be heading as the China markets are still pressurised by the inflation problems and there sesms to be no boost from the government. Hangseng may find its support at 22700ish and resistance at 23200ish today.

Asian market preview 17/06/2008

2008-06-17T05:32:00.002+07:00

US markets finished mixed last night after oil touched a fresh record high of $139.89 and then retreat back to close lower. Comments from Richmond Fed President Lacker said that downside risks to growth have diminished and reversing previous interest rate cuts seems to make sense also weigh some of the stocks in the Dow. The decline in regional manufacturing activity also weigh stocks in the morning before the market clawed its way back up. Manufacturing in NY fell to -8.7 from a -3.7 a month earlier and this showed the economy is still slowing down. However, reports from Lehman Bros helped stocks and the financial sectors and showed investors that the financial sectors are showing more stability now. The Dow fell 38.27 pts or 0.31% to 12269.08, S&P500 climbed 0.11 pts or 0.01% to 1360.14 while Nasdaq rose 20.28 pts or 0.83% to 2474.78.

Asian markets may open higher again today following yesterday's rally and more optimism found in the US markets regarding financial sectors and also the decline in oil prices. Investors may start to go back to stocks with more stability shown in the US for the past few days and they'll wait for more US data to come out today in form of housing starts and more from Goldman Sachs. Oil was recently traded around $134.40ish per barrel, gold traded around $881.80ish per barrel and JPY traded around 108.14ish. Nikkei futures closed at 14390 in CME compared to the close of 14360 here yesterday.

Kospi may open around 227ish today and may extend its rally to climb back towards the 230ish level. However, trading may be volatile yet again today as investors may also choose to wait for more US data to really gauge the health of the overall economy. Kospi may find its support at 225 and its resistance at 230 level today. Tech sectors may lead the way today and also the financials may make a run too after more stability shown from Lehman in the US.

Hangseng may open to the upside around 23000-23100ish today and may extend yesterday's rally. Mainland China markets may still be closely watched by investors to see if there's any reason to continue the climb further. Investors may start to put in more money with more optimism from the US and the health of the global economy is showing signs of improvement. Hangseng may find its support at 22800 today and its resistance at 23500. Trading may still be volatile should investors choose to wait and see for more market moving news from the US later on tonight and also if China is to come out with measures to boost stock markets.

Asian market preview 12/06/2008

2008-06-12T05:10:00.003+07:00

US markets tumbled overnight as oil prices soared to as high as $138.30 per barrel before settling at $136.38 per barrel or rising more than $5 per barrel. Oil prices soared after report showed that oil inventories fell more than estimated. Stocks also drop after concerns that global interest rates may rise on faster inflation fears with commodity prices at record highs. Investors are worried that the spike in oil prices will dent consumer spending and the chance of an economic recovery will go away. With high oil price, other commodity prices will also rise and inflation will rise too which leads to perhaps a rate hike to be made by central banks. The Dow ended lower by 205.99 pts or 1.68% to 12083.77, S&P500 fell 22.95 pts or 1.69% to 1335.49 while Nasdaq fell 54.93 pts or 2.24% to 2394.01.

Asian markets may open lower yet again today following a dismal performance in the US markets overnight. Higher oil price may provide more reason for investors to sell-off stocks today with fears on increasing inflation and the prospect of higher rates in the coming months. With global economic slowdown still linger around, higher inflation is the last thing investors would want to see in the current economic condition. Oil was recently traded around $136.70ish per barrel, gold traded around $881.10ish and JPY traded around 106.80ish. Nikkei futures for June delivery was closed at 13900 in CME compared to the close of 14180 here yesterday.

Kospi may open lower again today after staging a mild rebound yesterday. Kospi may open at around 223-224ish and may fall further towards the 221 level or may even test the 220 level today if investors decided to pull out of stock markets in the current uncertain conditions. Higher oil price and inflation concerns may push stock markets further down today as investors may want to get out of the market. Slightly weaker dollar may not help the market either.

Hangseng may open further down today and may open below the 23000 level today at around 22700-22800ish. Hangseng may fall further towards 22500 if market sentiment remains negative today. China mainland markets may play a significant role too today with the CPI numbers to come out of China where it will gauge the inflation in the country. China markets are under pressure since the governtment urge banks to raise their reserve ratio. Hangseng may find its support at 22500 today and its resistance at 23000.

Asian market preview 10/06/2008

2008-06-10T05:26:00.002+07:00

US markets ended the session mixed last night after a huge selloff on Friday. The drop in oil prices from record helped stocks to rally in Dow and S&P500. The improving sales in McDonald's also boosted stocks as it showed that consumers are still spending despite higher oil price. Financial sectors took another hit again though last night after Lehman Bros said that they're going to raise $6 billion after posting a large quarterly loss of $2.8 billion. The interest rate outlook pointed out by several Fed presidents also weigh on stocks as they said that high oil prices have caused inflation to be accelerating at a higher pace and that interest rate hike may be needed sooner rather than later. The Dow ended up by 70.51 pts or 0.58% to 12280.32, S&P500 rose 1.08 pts or 0.08% to 1361.76 while Nasdaq fell 15.10 pts or 0.61% to 2459.46.

Asian markets may open rather flat today but maybe with an upward bias as crude oil price fell more than $4 per barrel last night after Saudi Arabia's oil minister said that last week rally in oil was unjustified. The dollar strengthened against major currencies and that may also provide a boost to Asian markets with a lot of exporters. Oil was recently traded around $134.66ish per barrel, gold traded around $891.70ish and JPY traded around 106.30ish. Nikkei ftures was closed at 14220 in CME compared to the close of 14205 here yesterday.

Kospi may opened flat around 230-231ish today but may rebound from yesterday's losses on a slightly lower crude oil price. The strengthening dollar may also provide support for exporters in South Korea. Bargain hunters may start to kick in to hunt for cheap stocks but financials may still weigh as the US financial sector outlook remains grim.

Hangseng may open lower today as the market may want to play catch up with other markets around the region following yesterday's heavy losses in the region while Hangseng was closed for a holiday. A rise in oil price may weigh on Sinopec and PetroChina and the financial sectors may still also weigh the market down. China mainland markets may still be the major driving factor for Hangseng as it may turn to China to see how deep the market may drop or how strong it may rebound. Hangseng may find a strong support at around 24200 and 24000 and it may find its resistance at 24500 and 24700 today.

Asian market preview 09/06/2008

2008-06-07T05:25:00.002+07:00

US markets fell sharply on Friday following a series of bad economic data. The labor department said that unemployment rose by 5.5% in May after an increase of 5% in April and was the biggest monthly increase since February 1996. The rise leaves unemployment at its highest level since October 2004 since analysts had predicted an uptick of only 5.1%. The worst news came from oil prices where it rose $10.75 to settle at $138.54 and kept increasing to close at $139.12 in after-hours trading on the Nymex. The gains in oil had erased a previously optimist economic outlook investors had been hoping for in the 2nd half of the year. The gains in oil also marked the biggest ever 1 day rally ever recorded on the Nymex for oil. The rally was caused by the tension build up in Middle East after Israel issued a warning that they might attack Iran if they do not abandon their nuclear program. Morgan Stanley's analyst's forecast of oil hitting $150 per barrel by July 4th also helped the rally in oil. Finally, the ever increasing demand led by China caused the oil prices to soar the its record close ever. The Dow was battered and was closed down by 394.64 or 3.13% to 12209.81, S&P500 plunged 43.37 pts or 3.09% to 1360.68 while Nasdaq fell 75.38 or 2.96% to 2474.56.

Asian market may open lower today on skepticism regarding the state of the US economy. The high unemployment rate and the surge in oil price while the Dollar weakened may cause high selling pressure in the market today. Investors who have gained some optimism regarding the state of the US and global economy and also the prospect of an economical recovery in the 2nd half of the year may think otherwise after the rally in oil which may send inflation fears to Asian countries. Exporters may be battered after US$ weakened against major currencies. Oil was settled at $139.12 on Friday, gold was traded around $901.25 and JPY traded around 104.90ish. Nikkei futures was closed at 14050 in CME compared to the close of 14470 here on Friday.

Kospi may open lower today following the sell-off in the US on Friday session. Kospi was closed for a holiday on Friday and investors may find themselves seeking shelter for the plunge in the stock markets. Trading may be rough with oil going towards $140 per barrel and investors confidence may be dented by the state of the US economy. Kospi may go below 230 level today if investors decided to sell most of their stocks on the worrying economic data. Little optimism is expected to come from the investors today and this may cause Kospi to fall more than 3% for the day. Stocks may be hit hard as South Korea is a major oil importer.

Hangseng is closed for a national holiday today.