By Kyung Bok Cho and Patrick Rial
Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell for a fourth day after talks on a U.S. financial rescue plan stalled, Washington Mutual Inc. became the nation's biggest bank failure, and shipping rates slumped the most in 23 years.
China Merchants Bank Co. slid 4.7 percent in Hong Kong on concern the credit crisis is deepening after Republicans splintered over the proposed $700 billion bailout and WaMu was seized by regulators. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., Japan's largest operator of dry-bulk ships, lost 6.3 percent. BHP Billiton Ltd. dropped 1.5 percent after crude oil prices declined.
``The assumption is that the bailout will take longer than expected, which is negative,'' said Tsuyoshi Shimizu, a senior fund manager at Mizuho Asset Management Co., which oversees $26 billion. ``As with Washington Mutual, the longer it takes to pass something, the more victims we're going to see.''
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.7 percent to 113.98 at 3:34 p.m. in Tokyo, erasing an earlier 0.9 percent advance. The index has declined 0.3 percent this week, a fourth weekly retreat.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.9 percent to 11,893.16. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.4 percent led by as Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. on concern that its investments are losing money. New Zealand's NZX 50 Index declined 1.6 percent after the economy contracted in the second quarter, driving the nation into its first recession in a decade.
Samsung Electronics Co. led technology stocks lower after Goodmorning Shinhan Securities Co. cut its price and earnings estimates for Asia's biggest maker of chips, flat screen televisions and mobile phones.
Alternative Plan
Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures slid 1.5 percent after a group of House Republicans led by Eric Cantor rejected a plan proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that's backed by President George W. Bush and Democratic leaders.
If Paulson backs an alternative plan put forward by Cantor, negotiations would ``have to start all over again,'' U.S. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said.
The S&P 500 rose 2 percent yesterday as investors speculated Congress would agree on the $700 billion bailout.
China Merchants, the nation's fifth-largest bank by market value, declined 4.7 percent to HK$19.54 in Hong Kong. Woori Finance Holdings Co., which controls South Korea's second-largest bank, slid 7.5 percent to 12,400 won.
Seattle-based Washington Mutual had ``insufficient liquidity'' and was in an ``unsound'' condition, the Office of Thrift Supervision said in a statement. JPMorgan Chase & Co., the third-biggest U.S. bank by assets, agreed to pay $1.9 billion for the deposits of WaMu after the U.S. government closed the bank.
Ping An Drops
Ping An, which paid 1.81 billion euros ($2.65 billion) for a stake in Fortis, plunged 9.7 percent to HK$47.50. Fortis fell in Brussels to a 13-year low yesterday on funding concerns.
HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's largest bank by market value, cut 1,100 jobs in its global banking and markets division as the deepening financial crisis threatens to extend a decline in profit. The stock fell 0.1 percent to HK$123.50 in Hong Kong.
Babcock & Brown Ltd., this year's worst performer on the MSCI Asian index, slid 2.5 percent to A$2.31 in Australia, halting a five-day advance. China Citic Bank Corp., the banking unit of the nation's largest investment company, dropped 3.1 percent to HK$3.48 in Hong Kong.
Mitsui O.S.K. slumped 6.3 percent to 946 yen. Pacific Basin Shipping Ltd., Hong Kong's largest dry-bulk shipping line, lost a record 11 percent to HK$6.20, the lowest since March 2007. Hanjin Shipping Co., the biggest South Korean shipping line, slipped 6.5 percent to 27,850 won.
Slowing Demand
The Baltic Dry Index lost 7.3 percent yesterday, bringing its three-day slide to 16 percent, the steepest decline since at least 1985, on weaker demand for steel from Chinese construction companies. The price to lease a capesize vessel has fallen 22 percent this week, according to the Baltic Exchange.
``Investors are foreseeing a further slowdown in emerging markets and a prolonged economic slump will be no doubt negative for shipping companies,'' said Naoki Fujiwara, who oversees about $720 million as chief fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management Co. in Tokyo.
BHP, the world's biggest mining company, lost 1.5 percent to A$35.84. Mitsui & Co., Japan's second-largest trading company, declined 5 percent to 1,423 yen.
Crude oil lost 1.5 percent to $106.45 a barrel recently in after-hours trading. The contract had risen 2.2 percent to $108.02 yesterday in New York.
Refining Loss
China's two largest oil refiners slumped after the nation's oil refining and coking industry swung to a net loss of 96.1 billion yuan ($14 billion) in the first eight months because of record crude costs and weak demand. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. dropped 4.7 percent to HK$6.30 and PetroChina Co. declined 2.1 percent to HK$8.45.
Samsung retreated 2.5 percent to 553,000 won. Goodmorning Shinhan reduced its price estimate by 9.3 percent to 680,000 won in a report. Third-quarter operating profit will fall 41 percent from the previous three months on weak earnings from semiconductors and displays, the brokerage said.
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Japan's biggest drugmaker, added 4.2 percent to 5,670 yen, the most since April 2. The company said yesterday it will buy up to 9 million of its own shares for as much as 50 billion yen ($472 million).
Lotte Confectionery Co., South Korea's biggest maker of candy and cookies, lost 4 percent to 1.12 million won. The industrial chemical melamine was found in biscuits made by a Lotte affiliate in China, the Hankook Ilbo newspaper said. A company spokesman who asked not to be identified declined to comment on the report.
Tsingtao Brewery Co., China's biggest beer company by sales, gained 5.4 percent to 16.75 yuan. The company said its state- controlled parent bought 1.9 million shares yesterday, increasing its stake to 30.71 percent, from 30.56 percent.
To contact the reporter for this story: Kyung Bok Cho in Seoul at kcho7@bloomberg.net; Patrick Rial in Tokyo at prial@bloomberg.net
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