Morgan Stanley: Global bearish market nearing climax

The exterior of the world headquarters for Morgan Stanley Co. Incorporated is seen in New York, May 19, 2008.(Chinese media/ReutersPhoto)
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MUMBAI, July 22 (Chinese media) -- Global financial services major Morgan Stanley expects the bearish trend in global market nearing its climax and forecasts a strong possibility of bulls entry, if the continuous rise in commodity prices slows down.

"In sum, we think the global bear market is nearing a

climactic point and a crack in the commodity complex will be a powerful signal

for a reversal of the trends that dominated in the first half of the year,"

Morgan Stanley said in a quarterly newsletter to its mutual fund unit holders in

India, according to a report of Press Trust of India Tuesday.

Elaborating on the importance of oil prices in the

global economy, the letter stated that in the first half of 2008, stock markets

of most oil exporting countries soared to new highs, while those of oil

importers plunged 15 percent on an average.

The report stated that India and Turkey rank near the

bottom of the global stocks market league tables this year, as both the

countries have extremely large oil import bills, running at nearly five percent

of the GDP.

"They have no other major commodity exports to offset

the oil price shock and also have few listed companies that are commodity

plays," it added.

Furthermore, the letter said that inflation may not

be the crucial factor impacting a fall in the stock markets across the world.

Stocks in commodity exporting economies such as

Russia and Nigeria, which have witnessed the most pronounced increase in

inflation, could not have held up as well on a relative basis, the report

stated.