Asian stocks fell, dragging down the MSCI Asia Pacific Index by the most in almost two weeks, on concern European government finances are worsening and that China will intensify measures to rein in property prices.
Trend Micro Inc., which gets almost 20 percent of its sales from Europe, slumped 3.3 percent in Tokyo as yield spreads showed perceptions of Ireland and Portugal’s creditworthiness are deteriorating. Takefuji Corp., Japan’s third-largest consumer lender, plunged 32 percent on speculation it will file for bankruptcy protection. China Vanke Co. led the country’s developers lower after China Business News said the government will announce new measures to limit property-price gains.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.5 percent to 126.41 as of 8:02 p.m. in Tokyo, the biggest drop since Sept. 16. Concerns that mounting European government debt will hurt global economic growth contributed to the MSCI gauge slumping 15.7 percent from its 2010 high on April 15 to its low for the year on May 25. The index has since climbed 16 percent.
“European debt concerns will linger and that clouds the pace of the global economic recovery,” said Hiroshi Morikawa, a strategist in Tokyo at MU Investments, which manages about $14 billion in assets. “It will take a long time to solve the issue.”
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average sank 107.38, or 1.1 percent, to 9,495.76 in Japan, where about 1,400 companies went ex- dividend today, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That means investors who bought the stocks aren’t entitled to receive dividends for April-September. SMBC Friend Securities estimated that would erase about 63 points from the Nikkei 225.
Record Irish Spreads
China’s Shanghai Composite Index sank 0.6 percent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slumped 1 percent. South Korea’s Kospi Index dropped 0.3 percent, while India’s Sensitive Index lost less than 0.1 percent.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed. The index dropped 0.6 percent yesterday. Financial companies led the decline as investors speculated that merger talks between M&T Bank Corp. and Banco Santander SA broke down, while the extra yield investors demanded to buy Irish 10-year bonds instead of Germany’s bunds widened to a record.
Anglo Irish Bank Corp.’s senior debt was cut to the lowest investment grade by Moody’s Investors Service, which said it may reduce the rating for the Dublin-based firm to junk unless the government guarantees bondholders against losses. The cost of credit-default swaps to insure Irish and Portuguese debt has surged, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
“Concerns about the global economic outlook haven’t cleared,” said Yasushi Noguchi, a strategist in Tokyo at SMBC Friend Securities Co. “There are still issues related to Europe’s debt.”
Gold Falls
Trend Micro, the maker of anti-virus software, fell 3.3 percent to 2,583 yen in Tokyo. Standard Chartered Plc, the London-based bank, lost 1.9 percent to HK$231 in Hong Kong. HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe’s largest bank, slid 1.5 percent to HK$80.35. Samsung Electronics Co., which counts Europe as its second-biggest market after China, retreated 1.3 percent to 745,000 won in Seoul.
Gold companies declined after the price of the precious metal for immediate delivery fell for a second day. Bullion lost 0.4 percent, extending yesterday’s 0.1 percent drop.
Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia’s biggest gold producer, dropped 0.8 percent to A$39.38 in Sydney. Avoca Resources Ltd., which focuses on gold exploration, lost 3.4 percent to A$3.15.
Shares of Japanese companies that make rare-earth magnets declined after Economy Minister Banri Kaieda said China’s de facto ban on exports to Japan of rare earths, materials used in hybrid vehicles and laptop computers, may have a “big impact” on Japan’s economy.
September Rally
Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., which makes semiconductor silicon, synthetic and rare-earth quartz, dropped 1.1 percent to 4,255 yen. Fujitsu Ltd., which makes chips and computers, lost 1.3 percent to 596 yen.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has jumped 8.5 percent in September, set for its biggest monthly increase since July 2009, as government reports showed U.S. private payrolls climbed more than forecast and better-than-expected gains in Chinese industrial production.
Stocks in the gauge trade at 14.2 times estimated earnings on average, compared with 13.7 times for the S&P 500 and 12 times for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.
In Tokyo, Takefuji plunged 32 percent to 116 yen, the biggest drop on the Topix index. The company filed for bankruptcy protection after Japan’s stock markets closed, becoming the country’s biggest casualty of a four-year crackdown on coercive lending to consumers.
China Property Speculation
China Vanke, the nation’s biggest listed property developer, dropped 2.8 percent to 7.89 yuan in Shenzhen. Guangzhou R&F Properties Co., the biggest real-estate company in the southern Chinese city, declined 2.9 percent to HK$11.22 in Hong Kong. China Resources Land Ltd., a state-controlled developer, fell 3 percent to HK$16.66.
China will announce a round of measures to tighten property prices “soon,” targeting second- and third-home loans, the China Business News said today, citing an unidentified person.
“The impact of further possible tightening measures on the property market and the whole economy remains unknown,” said Wu Kan, a Shanghai-based fund manager at Dazhong Insurance Co., which oversees $285 million. “Property stocks have yet to fully price in these policy risks.”
A gauge of health-care stocks in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank 1.6 percent, the most of 10 industry groups.
Shionogi & Co., a Japanese drugmaker, retreated 1.7 percent to 1,532 yen. Barclays Plc reduced its investment recommendation to “equal weight” from “overweight” and cut the share-price estimate to 1,500 yen from 2,100 yen.
In Hong Kong, Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., the nation’s largest producer of the metal, jumped 4.3 percent to HK$7.32 for the Hang Seng Index’s biggest advance. The company’s parent announced a plan to invest at least 10 billion yuan （$1.5 billion） in rare earths.
豫公网安备41010502003434号