Asian markets opened with a predictable plunge and glum predictions on the Streets. I think we are gonna have / big financial problems for at least two years.
Banks took the early pressure, Australia’s Prime Minister going public to address investors. Australia’s major banks which represent 85% of the Australian banking system, um, that these are in good order, that they are weathering the financial crisis well, that they're well regulated, and they are well capitalized. That remains the situation.
With a late hit to commodity stocks, Australia finished down more than 4%, as did Japan.
We investors in Japan think the financial trouble in the US links so strongly to us, we won't get in a positive mindset until an emergency bailout plan is forced through.
But Seoul found some resilience after a ban on short selling, and Hong Kong bounced back. In Hong Kong one seasoned trader says the markets are still rating it a 50-50 chance that congress will still salvage a bailout bill, the implication of that is, is if they don’t, these markets still have further to fall. But after the Hang Seng index tumbled 5% in the first 5 minutes, Hong Kong’s oldest working trader was seeing up sign.
Do you think this is a buying opportunity?
Very good, opportunity to buy, for the, about P/E ratio around ten to twelve /.
The market agreed recouping all of those / early losses to close the day ahead, the only market in Asia to do so. So has Asia now shown a fundamental strength? Some believe it has.
Asian banking systems in the last 12 months have not needed to be supported, nationalized, injected or re-privatized, or otherwise interfered with, either by their central banks or the Asian governments. The Asian banking systems are absolutely sound alive and kicking.
Maybe, but would you put your house on it? Hugh Rimington CNN, Hong Kong.