By Chua Kong Ho and Patrick Rial
Aug. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell, led by financial and raw-materials companies, after bank profits slumped and oil and metals prices declined. U.S. and European futures dropped.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., Japan's second-largest bank by value, tumbled the most since January while Suncorp- Metway Ltd., Australia's No. 6 bank, posted its biggest drop since 1989. Mitsui & Co. and Santos Ltd. retreated after oil last month fell the most since December 2004 and U.S. growth trailed forecasts. NEC Corp. the largest Japanese personal-computer maker, plunged the most in two decades after profit slumped 64 percent.
``Any bad news is getting punished, while any small piece of good news is being ignored, which is typical of a bear market',' said Masafumi Oshiden, a Tokyo-based fund manager at BlackRock Inc., which oversees more than $1.4 trillion.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 1.6 percent to 130.24 at 3:20 p.m. in Tokyo, taking its weekly decline to 2.1 percent. Eight of 10 industry groups fell as financial stocks posted the biggest drop. The Asian benchmark index slipped 3.2 percent in July taking its plunge from its Nov. 1 high to 25 percent.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 2.1 percent to 13,094.59. Sharp Corp., Japan's largest liquid-crystal display maker, fell to its lowest since June 2003 after first-quarter operating profit trailed analysts' estimates. Mazda Motor Corp. and Suzuki Motor Corp. retreated after first-quarter profit fell on a stronger yen and higher raw-material costs.
To contact the reporter for this story: Chua Kong Ho in Shanghai at kchua6@bloomberg.net; Patrick Rial in Tokyo at prial@bloomberg.net
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