Asian Stocks Fluctuate as Insurers Fall on Flooding, Cnooc Gains

Jan. 10 （Bloomberg） -- Asian stocks fluctuated as Australian insurers dropped as flooding in Queensland worsened and energy producers advanced after crude oil futures increased.

Cnooc Ltd., China’s No. 1 offshore oil producer, climbed 2.2 percent in Hong Kong as crude oil futures rose for the first time in three days after a leak forced the shutdown of an Alaskan pipeline. Suncorp Group Ltd., Australia’s biggest Brisbane-based insurer, and Insurance Australia Group Ltd. fell at least 1.2 percent in Sydney. LG Chem Ltd., South Korea’s largest chemicals maker, declined 2.8 percent on speculation its battery designs have been compromised after partner Renault SA’s electric-car secrets were disclosed.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Excluding Japan Index lost 0.2 percent to 476.36 as of 11:03 a.m. in Hong Kong, with three stocks declining for every two that advanced. The gauge climbed to a two-month high on Jan. 4 as data on U.S. manufacturing and services industries boosted optimism that a recovery in the world’s largest economy is strengthening.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.1 percent and New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index climbed 0.1 percent. South Korea’s Kospi Index fell 0.5 percent. Singapore’s Straits Times Index slipped 0.1 percent. Taiwan’s Taiex Index retreated 0.1 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.3 percent. Japanese markets are closed for a holiday.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed today. The index fell 0.2 percent on Jan. 7 after U.S. employment rose less than forecast.

Crude Oil Rally

A gauge of energy stocks posted the biggest advance among the 10 industry groups in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index.

Cnooc increased 2.2 percent to HK$18.78 in Hong Kong. Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia’s second-biggest oil and gas producer, climbed 0.6 percent to A$43.05. Santos Ltd., the nation’s No. 3 energy producer, gained 1 percent to A$13.05.

Crude oil futures gained as much as 2.2 percent after the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System that carries about 15 percent of U.S. crude output was closed Jan. 8. The February contract climbed as much as $1.95 to $89.98 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $89.34 a barrel at 10:30 a.m. in Hong Kong.

Australian insurers and miners declined as more heavy rain over southeast Queensland exacerbated the state’s flooding crisis, with rising waters threatening to affect part of the capital Brisbane.

Suncorp Group declined 1.2 percent to A$8.48 in Sydney. Insurance Australia decreased 1.5 percent to A$3.87.

Force Majeure

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has estimated the bill from the disaster, which has closed mines and spoiled crops, may be more than A$5 billion （$5 billion）. The state is Australia’s largest coal exporter and accounts for about 20 percent of the nation’s A$1.3 trillion economy.

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, lost 0.5 percent. Rio Tinto Group, the world’s No. 3 mining company, fell 0.3 percent. Both companies have already declared force majeure, a legal clause allowing them to miss contracted deliveries, in response to the floods.

In Seoul, LG Chem sank 2.8 percent to 404,000 won even as the company said suspected leaks of Renault SA electric-car secrets haven’t compromised its battery designs. Renault confirmed that there was no leak of information on LG Chem’s technology, the South Korean company said in an e-mailed statement.

--Editors: Nick Gentle, John McCluskey.