BL: Asian Stocks Decline for First Week in Five on Greece Concern
By Kana Nishizawa and Shani Raja
March 27 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell this week for the first time in five weeks on concern the region’s central banks will boost efforts to curb inflation and that European Union leaders will fail to agree on an aid package for Greece.
Poly Real Estate Group Co. fell 3.2 percent in Shanghai on concern local governments in China are stepping up measures to limit land supply. Li & Fung Ltd., a trading company that supplies Wal-Mart Stores Inc., slumped 11 percent after reporting lower-than-estimated earnings. PetroChina Co., the nation’s biggest energy producer, dropped 5.1 percent after agreeing to take over Australia’s Arrow Energy Ltd. Nintendo Co. surged 15 percent in Osaka, Japan, after saying it will sell a 3-D video-game console that doesn’t require glasses.
“Investors are increasingly jittery about the inflationary outlook and high levels of sovereign debt,” said Tim Schroeders, who helps manage about $1.1 billion at Pengana Capital Ltd. in Melbourne.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.4 percent this week after India unexpectedly increased its benchmark interest rate on March 19 and as European leaders disagreed about how to rescue debt-stricken Greece. The index climbed yesterday, on speculation Europe will agree on a bailout.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1.6 percent this week to its highest close since October 2008, as a weaker yen boosted the earnings outlook for companies dependent on overseas demand. The market was closed on March 22 for a public holiday.
Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.5 percent this week, and China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.3 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.5 percent, South Korea’s Kospi index gained 0.7 percent.
China’s stocks fell the most in two weeks on March 25 on concern rising trade tensions will hurt the outlook for exports and the government may further tighten policy to curb asset bubbles.
Poly Real Estate declined 3.2 percent to 20.20 yuan. Li & Fung lost 11 percent to HK$37.15 after reporting profit that missed all nine estimates of analysts in a Bloomberg survey. PetroChina, the world’s biggest company by market value, fell 5.1 percent to HK$8.75 in Hong Kong after agreeing to acquire Arrow Energy. Separately, the company’s full-year earnings missed analysts’ estimates.
Cosco Shipping Co., a unit of China’s biggest shipping company, dropped 2.4 percent to 10.58 yuan in Shanghai after Vice Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan said pressuring China to revalue its currency won’t succeed.
“We’re worried that the currency issue will lead to trade protectionism, which will hurt the global economic recovery,” said Xiao Bo, Beijing-based strategist at Huarong Securities Co. “Government measures to tame inflation are likely to weigh on the market, especially on the property sector.”
Nintendo Advances
Among stocks that rose, Nintendo, the world’s biggest maker of video-game players, soared 15 percent to 32,150 yen, its highest close in more than a year. The company said on March 23 that its new DS game player model will allow users to play 3-D titles without special glasses and will go on sale in the fiscal year starting April 1.
Sharp Corp., Japan’s largest maker of liquid-crystal displays, advanced 4.3 percent to 1,137 yen. Kyocera Corp., an electronic components maker which derives over half of its sales outside Japan, rose 4.3 percent to 9,080 yen.
Japan’s exports climbed at the fastest pace in 30 years in February, the Finance Ministry said on March 24 in Tokyo. Exports rose to all regions for the first time since August 2007.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has climbed 3.3 percent this year as improving U.S. jobs data, a Federal Reserve pledge to keep borrowing costs low and a Japanese bank-lending program eased concern that budget deficits in Europe will derail the global recovery.
To contact the reporters for this story: Kana Nishizawa in Tokyo at knishizawa5@bloomberg.net; Shani Raja in Sydney at sraja4@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: March 26, 2010 18:49 EDT
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