By Yoshiaki Nohara and Lynn Thomasson - Jan 24, 2012 11:40 AM GMT+0700
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Canon Inc., a Japanese camera maker that depends on Europe for almost a third of its sales, rose 0.6 percent. Photographer: Toshiyuki Aizawa/Bloomberg
Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Donald Straszheim, senior managing director at International Strategy & Investment Group, talks about the outlook for China's economy and stock market. He speaks with Pimm Fox on Bloomberg Television's "Taking Stock." (Source: Bloomberg)
Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Robert Hagstrom, a portfolio manager at Legg Mason Funds Management, talks about investment strategy and the outlook for global markets. Hagstrom speaks with Deirdre Bolton and Dominic Chu on Bloomberg Television's "In the Loop." (Source: Bloomberg)
Asian stocks swung between gains and losses, snapping a five-day rally, as investors weighed European efforts to ease the region’s debt crisis.
Nintendo Co. (7974), a Japanese maker of video-game players that gets 34 percent of its sales in Europe, rose 1.1 percent. Mirabela Nickel Ltd. (MBN), an Australian nickel producer, slumped 12 percent after analysts cut their recommendations on the stock. Elpida Memory Inc. (6665) advanced 3.4 percent after a newspaper reported the chipmaker is in merger talks with Micron Technology Inc. and Nanya Technology Corp. (2408)
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (TPX) was little changed at 120.99 as of 1:34 p.m. in Tokyo after swinging between gains and losses at least four times. Six of the 10 industry groups on the measure rose.
“After such a big run up in the last month or so, it wouldn’t surprise me to see markets correct a little bit,” Shane Oliver, Sydney-based head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors Ltd., which has almost $100 billion under management, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “There’s still a lot of uncertainty around Europe and the Greek restructuring issue is still to be resolved.”
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.2 percent even after the Bank of Japan cut its growth outlook for the year starting in April while keeping its zero-interest rate policy. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed. Stock markets in China, Hong Kong and South Korea and Singapore are shut for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Greece Talks
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slid 0.3 percent today. The index added 0.1 percent in New York yesterday after Germany and France said talks between Greece and bondholders were making progress. The euro rose 0.6 percent to 100.25 yen yesterday. A strong euro boosts the value of Asian exporters’ earnings overseas.
Nintendo gained 1.1 percent to 10,760 yen. Canon Inc. (7751), a Japanese camera maker that generates about a third of its revenue in Europe, rose 0.3 percent to 3,400 yen.
“The market has gotten used to developments in Europe, and investors are expecting things won’t get worse after they priced in negative factors,” said Naoteru Teraoka, general manager at Tokyo-based Chuo Mitsui Asset Management Co., which oversees about $29.9 billion. “The euro’s rebound against the yen is contributing to a buyback in shares. The question is how long it will last.”
Gains in stocks were limited as European finance ministers balked at putting up more public money for Greece, calling on bondholders to provide greater debt relief in order to point the way out of the debt crisis.
‘Sensitive’ to Europe
“Many investors continue to be sensitive to European problems,” saidMasahiko Sato, an analyst at Nomura Holdings Inc. “They want to wait for earnings reports to get into a full swing down the road.”
Nippon Sheet Glass Co. (5202), which gets the highest percentage of revenue generated in Europe on the Nikkei 225 (NKY) Average, slumped 1.9 percent to 153 yen.
Of 1,004 companies listed on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, 63 firms are set to report their earnings this week, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (TPX) gained 6.3 percent this year through yesterday, compared with gains of 4.6 percent by the S&P 500 and 5.1 percent by the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Stocks in the Asian benchmark are valued at 1.3 times book value. That compares with 2.1 times for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index in the U.S. and 1.4 times for the Europe Stoxx 600 Index in Europe.
Mirabela Nickel slid 12 percent to A$1.07, set for the biggest drop in almost three years, after analysts cut their recommendations following increased production costs at its Brazilian mine.
Elpida, which faces an April deadline to pay back debts, added 3.4 percent to 363 yen after the Yomiuri newspaper reported it’s in merger talks with Micron Technology and Nanya Technology.
Energy Firms Gain
Inpex Corp. (1605), Japan’s No. 1 energy explorer, led gains among energy firms as oil rose for a second day on prospects crude supplies may be disrupted after the European Union said it will impose a ban on imports from Iran. Crude for March delivery increased as much as 39 cents to $99.97 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Inpex gained 2.4 percent to 518,000 yen. Smaller Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. climbed 1.7 percent to 3,390 yen. Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL), Australia’s second-biggest oil and gas firm, added 0.8 percent to A$33.97.
Sony Corp. (6758) fell 2.3 percent to 1,390 yen after the Nikkei newspaper reported without citing anyone that the company offered to take as much as a 30 percent stake in Olympus Corp. (7733) Olympus lost 0.2 percent to 1,295 yen.
To contact the reporter on this story: Yoshiaki Nohara in Tokyo at ynohara1@bloomberg.net; Lynn Thomasson in Hong Kong at lthomasson@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John McCluskey at j.mccluskey@bloomberg.net
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