Asian market preview 30/10/2008

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.