Wednesday November 13, 9:57 PM
THE US HOLDS THE KEY TO THE OUTLOOK FOR ASIAN MARKETS
By Vasu Menon, Chief Editorial finatiQ
Contributed by OCBC Asset Management
The key indicator for Asia markets in the coming months will be the direction of the US stockmarket.
October's US consumer confidence index hit a 9-year low of 79.4 points versus 93.7 points in September as job cuts and expectations of declining incomes weighed upon consumers.
Consumer spending is vital as it is the only area which is keeping the US economy up whereas business spending has slumped.
As long as property values remain stable and mortgage refinancing continues, there should not be any significant fall in consumer spending in the short term but it may be difficult to sustain for the longer term.
Given the weak consumer confidence index, the US Fed had cut the Fed fund rate by 50 basis points in November. Whether this will help significantly, is difficult to predict as interest rates are already at a record low, fiscal policy very loose, and inventories are at low levels.
Our strategy is to reduce the overweight in South Korea and increase our weightings in Taiwan and Hong Kong. We continue to remain positive on Thailand and we are slightly overweight on Singapore and Malaysia. Following declines in Australian stock prices, we believe there are now attractive stock pick opportunities and will be raising our exposure there.
These are the list of Asian funds from OCBC Asset Management:
1. Savers Korea Fund
2. Savers Malaysia Fund
3. Savers Philippines Fund
4. Savers Singapore Trust Fund
5. Savers Taiwan Fund
6. Savers Thailand Fund
7. Savers China Growth Fund
8. Savers India Fund
9. Savers Japan Fund
10. OCBC Asia Pacific Fund
11. Savers Asia Infrastructure Fund
12.Savers Asia Technology Fund
13. Savers AsPac Recovery Fund
14. Savers Capital Fund
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