It's not time to buy into the Asian rally just yet

There are hints that the credit freeze is thawing just a little. And if that keeps up, stocks can probably use it as a springboard for some pretty big gains. But, says Cris Sholto Heaton, it's not time to buy into Asian markets just yet. Here, he explains why…

Calling the bottom of a stock market rout is a dangerous game, and one which it's very easy to get wrong. But recent developments suggest we may have seen the bottom of the plunge for now.

Things are still pretty bad out there, especially in the credit markets. But there are hints that the credit freeze is thawing just a little. If that keeps up, and we get just a little more good news, stocks can probably use it as a springboard for some pretty big gains.

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Row 0 - Cell 0 FY07FY08FY09E
Revenue (S$m)52.460.368
Row 2 - Cell 0 Row 2 - Cell 1 15.1%12.8%
Net profit (S$m)9.511.212.9
Row 4 - Cell 0 Row 4 - Cell 1 17.9%15.2%
EPS (Sc)3.263.844.4
Row 6 - Cell 0 Row 6 - Cell 1 17.8%14.6%
Swipe to scroll horizontally
MarketClose5-day change
China (CSI 300)1664-6.6%
Hong Kong (Hang Seng)13969+10.7%
India (Sensex)9788-3.8%
Indonesia (JCI)1257+1.0%
Japan (Topix)867+7.6%
Malaysia (KLCI)864-3.1%
Philippines(PSEi)1951-0.1%
Singapore (Straits Times)1794+2.8%
South Korea (KOSPI)1113+18.6%
Taiwan (Taiex)4871+6.4%
Thailand (SET)417-3.8%
Vietnam (VN Index)347+0.6%
MSCI Asia80+9.3%
MSCI Asia ex-Japan277+12.7%
Cris Sholto Heaton

Cris Sholto Heaton is an investment analyst and writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2006 and was managing editor of the magazine between 2016 and 2018. He is especially interested in international investing, believing many investors still focus too much on their home markets and that it pays to take advantage of all the opportunities the world offers. He often writes about Asian equities, international income and global asset allocation.

Cris began his career in financial services consultancy at PwC and Lane Clark & Peacock, before an abrupt change of direction into oil, gas and energy at Petroleum Economist and Platts and subsequently into investment research and writing. In addition to his articles for MoneyWeek, he also works with a number of asset managers, consultancies and financial information providers.

He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and the Investment Management Certificate, as well as degrees in finance and mathematics. He has also studied acting, film-making and photography, and strongly suspects that an awareness of what makes a compelling story is just as important for understanding markets as any amount of qualifications.