Asian Stocks Fall on U.S. Economy Concern; Toyota, Samsung Drop By Chen Shiyin and Makiko Suzuki
March 28 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks dropped for a second day, led by companies that sell to the U.S. after consumer confidence and home prices declined in the region's largest export market. Toyota Motor Corp., which made about a third of fiscal 2006 revenue in the U.S. and Canada, and Samsung Electronics Co. fell. ``Automakers and technology companies rely on sales in North America so the current uncertainty over the U.S. economy is pushing the shares lower,'' said Junichi Misawa, who oversees $655 million at STB Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. Inpex Holdings Inc. and Cnooc Ltd. led energy producers higher after the oil price rose to a six-month high. Orient Corp. jumped the most in more than four years after shareholder Mizuho Financial Group Inc. prepared to announce a financial aid plan. The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index lost 0.5 percent to 144.55 as of 7:52 p.m. in Tokyo, following a 0.6 percent drop yesterday. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.6 percent, erasing gains of as much as 0.5 percent, while the broader Topix index slid 0.7 percent. Tokyo Electric Power Co. led declines in utilities after a document showed it will delay the completion of two nuclear reactors at a plant where it had an accident. All other markets fell, apart from in China. India's Sensitive Index slid 1.8 percent, the most in the region. U.S. stocks posted their steepest losses in two weeks as economic reports added to concern a housing crisis will dent growth. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slid 0.6 percent. Consumer Sentiment Toyota, Japan's largest automaker, fell 1.4 percent to 7,620 yen. Samsung Electronics, which accounted for about 16 percent of South Korean exports last year, slid 1.4 percent to 572,000 won. Rinker Group Ltd., the biggest supplier of cement blocks in the U.S., lost 1.9 percent to A$17.58 in Australia. The Conference Board's index of consumer confidence dropped to 107.2 this month from 111.2 in February. Spending accounts for more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy. Meanwhile, home values fell 0.2 percent in January from a year earlier, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index, a measure of home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas. The decrease was the first since the group started the index in January 2001. The reports came after a day after new-home sales in the U.S. dropped 3.9 percent to an annual pace of 848,000 in February. Economists had predicted they would rise to a 985,000 rate, according to a Bloomberg News survey. Bad Indicators ``The U.S. depends hugely on spending, so if consumption is hit, so is the whole economy,'' said Park Seh Ick, who helps manage about $1.3 billion at Hanwha Investment Trust Management Co. in Seoul. ``I think the U.S. indicators that we'll see in the second quarter will be quite bad.'' Sony Corp., the world's No. 2 maker of consumer electronics which made 70 percent of its sales overseas last year, fell 2.1 percent to 6,080 yen. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the world's largest contract manufacturer, declined 2.3 percent to NT$217. A measure of energy stocks gained 0.7 percent, the biggest advance among the MSCI index's 10 industry groups. Inpex, Japan's largest oil producer, climbed 2.3 percent to 994,000 yen. Cnooc, China's largest offshore oil explorer, rose 0.3 percent to HK$6.62 in Hong Kong. Crude oil for May delivery rose as much as 2.4 percent to $64.46 a barrel in after-hours trading in New York on speculation supplies from the Middle East will be disrupted if a confrontation erupts in the Persian Gulf over the seizure of British servicemen by Iran. Futures were recently at $64.03, the highest for a front- running contract since September. Stay Strong ``Energy-related shares may stay strong for the time being as the tension in the Middle East is keeping oil prices high,'' said Junichi Misawa, who oversees $655 million at STB Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. Japan's Orient jumped 17 percent to 160 yen, its biggest advance since January 2003. Shareholder Mizuho, Japan's No. 2 bank by assets, will announce a financial aid plan for Orient today, said Masako Shiono, a spokeswoman in Tokyo. Acom Co., Japan's second-biggest consumer finance company, jumped 6.7 percent to 4,750 yen. Credit Saison Co., a credit card company, climbed 1.5 percent to 3,950 yen. Tokyo-based Orient said earlier this month it expects to post a 457.9 billion yen ($3.89 billion) net loss for the year ending March 31, citing reserves for interest repayments and bad-loans. Hiroyuki Matsumoto, Orient's spokesman, declined to comment today. Positive Effect ``Should Mizuho make Orient a subsidiary that would have a positive effect generally for the industry,'' said Toru Kitani, who manages $3 billion in Japanese equities at Sompo Japan Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. Orient will receive a total of 75 billion yen in capital from Mizuho and Itochu Corp., the Nikkei newspaper reported earlier, without saying where it obtained the information. Tokyo Electric, Asia's biggest power producer, dropped 1.5 percent to 4,090 yen. Kansai Electric Power Co., Japan's second biggest, declined 2 percent to 3,500 yen. Tokyo Electric will postpone the commissioning of Fukushima Daiichi's seventh and eighth reactors until October 2013 and 2014, a year later than planned, according to a document obtained by Bloomberg. Nuclear projects face resistance from communities after Tokyo Electric and other utilities said they falsified safety data more than 200 times and covered up incidents. India's Sensitive Index, known as the Sensex, dropped the most among equity markets included in global benchmarks. Infosys Technologies Ltd., the country's second-biggest software maker, fell 3.2 percent to 1,992.30 rupees. Wipro Ltd., the third largest, dropped 4.8 percent to 558.20 rupees. The Indian rupee rose as high as 43.11 against the dollar, the highest since June 1999. A stronger local currency reduces the value of overseas sales when concerted into rupees. In Taiwan, shares of AU Optronics Corp. dropped after Benq Corp., the country's largest maker of branded consumer electronics, said it plans to sell 100 million shares, or about 1.3 percent, of AU Optronics. AU Optronics, the world's third-largest liquid-crystal display maker, dropped 2.8 percent to NT$46.25. Benq slid 2.4 percent to NT$12.85. Acom Co. (8572 JT) AU Optronics Corp. (2409 TT) Benq Corp. (2352 TT) Cnooc Ltd. (883 HK) Credit Saison Co. (8253 JT) Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (2317 TT) Infosys Technologies Ltd. (INFO IN) Inpex Holdings Inc. (1605 JT) Kansai Electric Power Co. (9503 JT) Orient Corp. (8585 JT) Rinker Group Ltd. (RIN AU) Samsung Electronics Co. (005930 KS) Sony Corp. (6758 JT) Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501 JT) Toyota Motor Corp. (7203 JT) Wipro Ltd. (WPRO IN) To contact the reporter for this story: Chen Shiyin in Singapore at [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; Makiko Suzuki in Tokyo at [EMAIL PROTECTED] . Last Updated: March 28, 2007 06:54 EDT Ratman Now Everyone Can Trade Believe The Unbelievable,Dream The Impossible, Don't Take No for An Answer http://www.j-club.biz
