Rollercoaster Asian stocks set to rise in 2008 : ET

Rollercoaster Asian stocks set to rise in 2008

Asian stock markets gave investors a whit-knuckle ride in 2007 but most are up harply and analysts predict turbulent gains next year despite a severe US financial crisis. "I think Asian markets will be up over the whole of 2008 -- but they are set to fall substantially over the next few months first," said Shanghai-based expert Andy Xie, a former Morgan Stanley economist. Indian and Chinese shares led the pack this year, fizzing up about 85 per cent and 40 per cent respectively and defying fears that they had already risen too far.

China held a series of sometimes huge stock flotation that raised billions of dollars, while foreign investors continued to pour money into Indian stocks. But the key Japanese bourse had a year to forget as the Nikkei-225 index slumped about 12 per cent amid a global credit crunch rooted in the ailing US economy.

"The overall Japanese market has come down quite sharply in the last few weeks," said Tokyo-based fund manager Hideo Shiozumi, the chief executive of Shiozumi Asset Management. Asian markets have struggled since November, mainly due to fears about the impact of an expected US economic slowdown after a mortgage default crisis there, analysts say. China's attempt to curb high economic and stock market growth, for instance by hiking borrowing costs repeatedly, has also affected sentiment, they say.



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