By Chen Shiyin and Shani Raja
July 3 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell for a fifth day, extending a global slump, after oil rose to a record, deepening concern global economic growth will slow and erode profits.
Toyota Motor Corp. dropped as crude climbed above $144 a barrel. Posco led steelmakers lower on speculation falling vehicle sales will reduce demand for the metal. BHP Billiton Ltd. plunged the most in more than three months following declines in platinum, palladium and coal prices.
``The world has definitely turned bearish and sentiment is very negative,'' said Prasad Patkar, who helps manage the equivalent of about $1.8 billion at Platypus Asset Management in Sydney. ``The price of oil at this time is choking demand. That's what the world's equity markets are reacting to.''
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index lost 0.7 percent to 133.58 at 12:33 p.m. in Tokyo, following a four-day, 3.2 percent retreat. Concern that surging commodity prices will fuel inflation and derail growth dragged the measure to the lowest since March 18.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.2 percent to 13,232.21, snapping a 10-day, 8.1 percent slump. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index fell 3.1 percent, Asia's biggest loss. All other benchmark indexes in the region fell apart from China.
Trading was suspended on Malaysia's stock exchange for the morning session due to a ``multi-hardware failure'' in its core trading system, Bursa Malaysia Bhd. said.
Bear Market
U.S. stocks dropped yesterday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average into a bear market. General Motors Corp. plunged to a 54-year low after Merrill Lynch & Co. warned that ``bankruptcy is not impossible'' as U.S. auto demand slows and lowered its rating on the automaker. Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.1 percent.
Toyota, which gets about half of its profit from North America, lost 1 percent to 4,890 yen. Honda Motor Co., Japan's second-largest automaker, declined 0.8 percent to 3,570 yen.
Crude oil for August delivery rose as much as 0.6 percent to a record $144.44 a barrel in New York today after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said prices may climb to $150. Futures have doubled in the past year.
Finance ministers from the Group of Eight nations said last month surging food and fuel prices have replaced the credit squeeze as the biggest threat to the world economy. The Bank for International Settlements, which lends to central banks, said on June 30 interest rates should be raised globally to curb price increases.
`Bloody Market'
MSCI's Asian index fell 13 percent in the first half of this year, the worst start since 1992. None of the region's stock benchmarks have advanced this year, while China's 49 percent drop this year has made it the world's second-worst performer after Vietnam among 88 global indexes tracked by Bloomberg data.
``It's very bloody market out there: oil continues marching to a record and the U.S. market has officially entered a bear market,'' said Olan Caperina, who helps manage about $6.7 billion at BPI Asset Management Inc. in Manila. ``Investors are scared and markets are in panic.''
Soaring fuel costs contributed to an 18 percent plunge in U.S. vehicle sales last month, according to a report this week. That's the steepest slump in almost six years. GM's sales fell 18 percent as demand for pickups and sport-utility vehicles waned and the automaker said it will cut North American production this quarter by about 12 percent.
Posco, South Korea's largest steelmaker, dropped 6 percent to 491,500 won. Bluescope Steel Ltd., Australia's biggest, fell 7.9 percent to A$10.26. Nippon Steel Corp., the world's second- biggest steelmaker, declined 1.3 percent to 548 yen.
Hyundai Steel, BHP
Hyundai Steel Co., South Korea's No. 2 steelmaker, slumped 6.4 percent to 67,000 won after UBS AG cut its rating on the shares to ``neutral'' from ``buy.''
BHP, the world's largest mining company, lost 5.6 percent to A$40.50, poised for its largest slump since March 20. Rio Tinto Group, the third-biggest, declined 6.1 percent to A$124.20. Platinum and palladium prices dropped yesterday on concern that demand for the metals used in car parts will slow.
Coal for delivery to Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Antwerp with settlement next year fell $27.50, or 13 percent, to $190 a metric ton in London, according to ICAP Plc prices supplied to Bloomberg.
Gloucester Coal Ltd., an Australian producer of the fuel, plunged 14 percent to A$10.45. Straits Asia Resources, which supplies coal to Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, slumped 9.7 percent to S$3.15 in Singapore. PT Bumi Resources, Indonesia's biggest coal producer, lost 9.6 percent to 7,500 rupiah.
Ping An Insurance (Group) Co., China's No. 2 insurer, dropped 8.3 percent to 39.45 yuan in Shanghai, adding to its 10 percent slump yesterday.
There has been speculation about ``regular investigations conducted by the State Administration of Taxation on the company,'' Ping An said yesterday. ``The speculation is not in accordance with facts.''
To contact the reporter for this story: Chen Shiyin in Singapore at schen37@bloomberg.net; Shani Raja in Sydney at sraja4@bloomberg.net.
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