By Jonathan Burgos
March 3 (Bloomberg) -- Most Asian stocks fell, led by banks and commodity companies, as concerns about the worsening global economy countered speculation China will introduce more policies to stimulate growth.
HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe’s largest bank, plunged 19 percent in Hong Kong after announcing share-sale plans. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, sank 2.4 percent in Sydney as oil and metals prices declined. China Life Insurance Co., the nation’s biggest insurer, added 1.5 percent in Hong Kong on speculation the government will this week boost spending to bolster the economy.
“We’re still underweight on equities but more positive on China,” said Daphne Roth, Singapore-based head of Asia equity research at ABN Amro Private Bank, which manages $27 billion of Asian assets. “Some of the most powerful stimulus have come from China. There is no rush to buy stocks because there might be another round of selling and earnings downgrades.”
Five stocks dropped for every four that advanced on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, which lost 0.2 percent to 72.30 as of 4:33 p.m. in Tokyo. The gauge slumped 19 percent this year, extending 2008’s record 43 percent tumble, as recessions in the world’s largest economies hurt earnings at companies from BHP to Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest automaker.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 0.7 percent to 7,229.72 in Tokyo, paring a decline of as much as 2.6 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index retreated 1.8 percent. All markets open for trading declined, except South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Yahoo Japan Corp., Japan’s most visited Internet portal, tumbled 9 percent after Morgan Stanley cut its recommendation on the stock. Pacific Basin Shipping Ltd., Hong Kong’s biggest dry- bulk carrier, fell 8.7 percent on lower earnings.
Record Loss
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.9 percent. The gauge tumbled 4.7 percent yesterday to its lowest close since October 1996. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index slid 5 percent to a six-year low. The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell to the lowest level in 14 weeks as European Union leaders rejected pleas for aid to eastern Europe.
The deepening global recession, a third government rescue for Citigroup Inc. and dividend cuts at companies from General Electric Co. to JPMorgan Chase & Co. have dragged the MSCI World Index to three consecutive weeks of declines. The benchmark gauge was little changed today after yesterday’s 4.9 percent tumble, which was the most since Dec. 1.
“You need to see the economic indicators stop deteriorating, and at this stage they’re still deteriorating,” said Rob Patterson, who helps manage $2 billion at Argo Investments Ltd. in Adelaide. “It’s hard for any confidence to come back in when there’s still so much negative news.”
Raising Funds
AIG yesterday said its fourth-quarter loss widened to $61.7 billion from $5.29 billion a year earlier. The results brought AIG’s annual loss to almost $100 billion, prompting the U.S. to offer a package of equity, new credit and lower interest rates on existing loans.
HSBC tumbled 19 percent to HK$46.40 following a one-day suspension. The company yesterday announced plans to raise 12.5 billion pounds ($17.7 billion) to bolster its capital as the bank’s subprime losses cut full-year net income by 70 percent.
Its Hang Seng Bank Ltd. unit, which yesterday posted a 46 percent drop in second-half profit, fell 3.7 percent to HK$81.10. The lender had share-price targets cut at UBS AG, Credit Suisse Group AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to “neutral” from “outperform.”
Standard Chartered Plc, the London-based lender that gets almost two-thirds of its revenue in Asia, dropped 3.5 percent to HK$69 before an announcement on its 2008 earnings today. Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., Japan’s No. 1 casualty insurer, lost 2.8 percent to 2,070 yen.
Oil, Metals
BHP Billiton fell 2.4 percent to A$27.29. Inpex Corp., Japan’s biggest oil explorer, sank 5.8 percent to 589,000 yen. Mitsui & Co., a trading company that earns more than half its profit from commodities, slid 6.6 percent to 827 yen.
Crude oil for April delivery tumbled 10 percent in New York yesterday, the most since Jan. 7, to $40.15 a barrel. A measure of six primary metals traded in London fell 2.2 percent, with nickel losing 4.5 percent.
Governments from the U.S. to China and Australia have sought to introduce policies this year to help bolster growth in global economy, which the International Monetary Fund expects to grind to a halt this year.
China Life gained 1.5 percent to HK$21. China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd., a real-estate developer controlled by China’s construction ministry, surged 4.4 percent to HK$10.28.
Government Action?
The Chinese government may try to boost confidence by doubling a 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) stimulus package at a meeting of the National People’s Congress that starts March 5, Stephen Green, Shanghai-based head of China research at Standard Chartered Bank Plc said today.
China is trying to reverse a slump in the world’s third- biggest economy that has cost 20 million jobs as exports collapsed. The nation will “massively” increase government investment in 2009 and expand social security coverage, the Communist Party’s Politburo said Feb. 23.
Sony Corp., the world’s No. 2 consumer-electronics maker, climbed 4.5 percent to 1,734 yen in Tokyo, rebounding from a drop of 3.4 percent. Shares in Japan pared losses after Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano said the government can’t ignore “excessive declines” in the nation’s stock market. Yosano said on Feb. 26 that he ordered a study into ways to bolster equities.
“There are growing expectations the government will take measures to bolster Japan’s stock market toward the end of this month,” said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees about $615 million at Tokyo-based Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co.
Yahoo Japan plunged 9 percent to 25,060 yen, the biggest decline on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. Naoshi Nema, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, lowered his recommendation on the Tokyo-based company to “underweight” from “equalweight,” citing a possible decline in Internet advertising.
Pacific Basin dropped 8.7 percent to HK$3.16. Profit dropped 13 percent last year amid provisions for ship charters, the shipping line said after the Hong Kong market closed yesterday.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Burgos in Singapore at jburgos4@bloomberg.net.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment