There may be more downturns in store for Asia, particularly as banks report the fallout from their investments in the US mortgage market. Companies “have not announced their year-end numbers yet,” Schullersaid, and if they are holding subprime assets, they may need to write-off their value, she said. “They are going to be taking these 25 to 30 per cent haircuts we’re seeing on Wall Street,” she said. “I think it is going to shock people.”

Ajay Bagga CEO, Lotus India AMC

US slowdown and corrections were the triggers. High IPO collections sucked liquidity. The final assault came from high open interest positions. Corrections triggered margin calls leading to loss bookings. Investors should abstain from margin play and revisit equity asset allocation. Look for domestic stories insulated from global factors.

Puneet Nanda CIO, ICICI Prudential Life Ins.

One of the reasons for the crash was US recession. There has been a lot of selling by FIIs. The two big IPOs saw a lot of money being locked in to the market. Moving forward, I feel global worries persist and markets may remain volatile. This is an opportunity to buy at better valuations

A Chakraborty President (equity), Religare

Initiated with liquidity suck by the public offer of Reliance Power and profit booking by hedge funds and FIIs, the fall was triggered by F&O margin calls and simultaneous loss bookings. This is the right time for investors to get in some stocks as the market is hitting bottom

... contd.