05 Oct 2009
Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell for a third day, led by technology and mining companies, as economist Nouriel Roubini said share prices may drop and a report showed the U.S. lost more jobs than estimated.Samsung Electronics Co., which gets 19 percent of sales from America, dropped 3 percent. Mitsui & Co., which counts commodities as its biggest source of profit, lost 2.3 percent after oil and metal prices decreased. Fast Retailing Co., Japan's biggest casual-clothing retailer, climbed 12 percent after sales at its Uniqlo chain surged.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 0.6 percent to 113.83 as of 12:59 p.m. in Tokyo. The gauge fell 2.8 percent last week, the biggest drop since the five days ended Aug. 21, on concern a seven-month rally had outpaced the prospects for a revival in the global economy.
"The expectations of recovery that gave the market an extra boost have come apart," said Masaru Hamasaki, a senior strategist at Toyota Asset Management Co., which oversees the equivalent of $14 billion. "Resource shares won't rise until we see a vigorous recovery in demand."
South Korea's Kospi Index dropped 1.5 percent, as Hana Financial Group Inc. tumbled 12 percent after the Maeil Business Newspaper reported it may sell new shares.
Japan's Topix Index lost 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was little changed. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.1 percent. China's markets are closed today for a holiday.
U.S. Economy
Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 0.3 percent. The gauge retreated 0.5 percent on Oct. 2 after a Labor Department report showed payrolls dropped more than economists had estimated in September. Orders placed with U.S. factories fell 0.8 percent in August, the Commerce Department said, while economists had forecast orders would be unchanged.
Following those reports, Group of Seven finance chiefs said after a weekend meeting that "disorderly" swings in currencies threaten economic growth. Policy makers from France to Canada have signaled worry that a sliding dollar risks impeding their recoveries from the deepest global recession since World War II.
Asian exporters fell on concern U.S. demand is faltering. Samsung Electronics, the world's largest maker of computer- memory chips, declined 3.9 percent to 761,000 won. Honda Motor Co., which generates 47 percent of its revenue in North America, retreated 1.1 percent to 2,640 yen. Li & Fung Ltd., the biggest supplier of clothes and toys to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp., declined 2.7 percent to HK$29.
Trading Houses
Mitsui, Japan's No. 2 trading house, dropped 2.3 percent to 1,098 yen. Larger rival Mitsubishi Corp., which derives almost half of its sales from commodities, declined 1.3 percent to 1,754 yen.
Crude oil slid 1.2 percent on Oct. 2, the most in a week. A gauge of six metals, including copper and nickel, fell 2 percent in London, adding to the previous day's 2.8 percent drop.
The MSCI gauge has climbed 62 percent from a five-year low on March 9 as stimulus measures worldwide dragged economies out of recession. Stocks in the index are priced at an average 22 times estimated earnings, more than 17 times for companies in the S&P 500.
"Markets have gone up too much, too soon, too fast," Roubini, the New York University professor who predicted the financial crisis, said in an interview in Istanbul on Oct. 3. "I see the risk of a correction, especially when the markets now realize that the recovery is not rapid and V-shaped, but more like U-shaped. That might be in the fourth quarter or the first quarter of next year."
Second Slump?
Michael Geoghegan, HSBC Holdings Plc's chief executive officer, is convinced there will be a second global economic slump and as a result doesn't want the bank to grow too fast, the Financial Times cited him as saying.
Hana Financial, South Korea's fourth-largest financial company, tumbled 12 percent to 35,900 won. The company may sell as much as 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) of new shares, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported yesterday on its Web site.
The company hasn't decided whether to sell the stock, Lee Jung Dae, a Hana spokesman, said today by telephone. He neither denied nor confirmed the report.
Fast Retailing jumped 12 percent to 13,240 yen. The company said sales at Uniqlo in Japan advanced 32 percent last month, the biggest increase in 10 months, on higher demand for jeans and jackets.
