Asian market preview 11/11/2008

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.