(1888PressRelease)
May 22, 2009 - Asian stock markets fell Thursday after the U.S. central bank predicted an even deeper recession in the world's largest economy.
Benchmarks in Tokyo, Hong Kong and other major markets were lower by about 1 percent. The dollar continued to slide against the yen, hurting Japanese exporters, while oil prices retreated from six-month highs.
Investors across the region were scaling back risky bets on stocks after the Federal Reserve cut its outlook for all of 2009, saying America's economy could shrink between 1.3 and 2 percent compared to the prior estimate of 0.5 and 1.3 percent. In an ominous sign for Asian exporters that rely on U.S. consumer demand, the Fed policymakers said the unemployment rate could approach 10 percent.
With markets up 30 percent or more over the last couple of months, investors are growing more cautious as they try to determine whether the rally was overdone or has more upside.
"A lot of the economic evidence is a bit better but still very bad," said Stephen Yang, an Analyst with Seedorf Luxman & Partners in Singapore. He said “The Fed's unemployment projections were especially unsettling.”
"I'm just not comfortable buying at these levels to be honest, and think a correction is imminent," the Seedorf Luxman & Partners Analyst said.
Seedorf Luxman & Partners are a specialized advisory and consultancy company that provides investors with the resources necessary to find small stocks with tremendous growth potential, unknown to the general investing public. All of our team with comprehensive fields of expertise are driven by a focus upon helping our clients meet their investment objectives. Whether you are an individual investor or an institutional client we will provide an excellent level of service.
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