Sunday 18 August 2013

Asian Stocks Outside Japan Drop, Led by Emerging Markets

By Adam Haigh - Aug 18, 2013 9:33 PM PT
Asian stocks outside Japan fell for a third day as a retreat in emerging markets dragged the regional benchmark gauge to its lowest level in a week. Japan’s Topix index swung from losses to gains amid low trading volumes.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. fell 3.9 percent after saying an alarm went off at its Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear reactor, indicating high radioactive concentration. BlueScope Steel Ltd. (BSL) fell 16 percent as sales missed analyst estimates and Australia’s No. 1 steel producer forecast a weaker first half of the financial year. JX Holdings Inc. (5020) gained 3.2 percent after Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. advised buying the Japanese refiner’s shares.
Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Binay Chandgothia, managing director and portfolio manager at Principal Global Investors in Hong Kong, talks about the outlook for emerging market stocks. Chandgothia also discusses Japan's economy and stock market. He speaks with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television's "First Up." (Source: Bloomberg)
Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Mark Konyn, chief executive officer of Cathay Conning Asset Management Ltd., a joint venture between Conning & Co. and Cathay Financial Holding Co., talks about China stocks, the nation's economy and investment strategy. Konyn also discusses Federal Reserve monetary policy. He speaks with Rishaad Salamat and Susan Li on Bloomberg Television's "Asia Edge." (Source: Bloomberg)
Aug. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Fan Cheuk Wan, head of Asia-Pacific research for Credit Suisse Group AG’s private bank, talks about China's economic outlook, central bank monetary policy and stock market. She speaks with Susan Li and Rishaad Salamat on Bloomberg Television's "Asia Edge." (Source: Bloomberg)
The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index fell 0.5 percent to 444.56 as of 12:30 p.m. in Hong Kong. Seven of the 10 industry groups on the gauge dropped. The measure has lagged an increase in U.S. stocks this year as growth slows in China and speculation that the Federal Reserve will curb U.S. bond buying spurred investors to sell assets perceived as riskier acrossAsia and emerging markets. The Federal Open Market Committee’s July meeting minutes are scheduled to be released on Aug. 21.
“The market’s going to be watching the FOMC minutes this week to see if there’s any more indication in regards to potential of tapering in September, which is what we’re currently predicting,” Martin Lakos, a Sydney based director at Macquarie Private Wealth, told Bloomberg TV. “There are still some concerns that a big move in QE will be disruptive.”
The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index slid 4.1 percent this year through Aug. 16, lagging a 16 percent surge on the S&P 500 Index.

Relative Value

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index, the benchmark regional gauge that includes Japan, rose 0.2 percent. It traded at 13 times estimated earnings on Aug. 16 compared with 15 for the S&P 500 Index and 14 times for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Japan’s Topix index rose 0.2 percent, reversing a decline of 0.4 percent, with trading volume 44 percent below its 30-day average for the time of day. Japanese exports increased 12.2 percent in July from a year earlier, data showed today, less than the 12.8 percent estimated by economists. Imports jumped 19.6 percent.
The Topix gained 33 percent this year through Aug. 16, the world’s best-performing developed equity market, amid optimism Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will push through reforms while the central bank provides record stimulus to spur an economic recovery. Daily trading volume on the gauge fell to the lowest this year on Aug. 12 and remained near that level throughout last week as investors took summer vacations.

Regional Gauges

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.1 percent. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index and South Korea’s Kospi index both lost 0.3 percent. Singapore’s Straits Times Index slipped 0.1 percent and Taiwan’s Taiex Index slid 0.2 percent. Thailand’s SET Index slid 1.7 percent and Indonesia’s Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index slipped 3.8 percent. India’s S&P BSE Sensex Index retreated 1 percent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.2 percent as property developers retreated. China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.2 percent.
Chinese stocks were roiled Aug. 16 by a trading error at Everbright Securities Co. that spurred a 53 percent surge in volume and a swing of more than 6 percent in the Shanghai Composite Index. Erroneous buy orders from Everbright’s proprietary trading group sparked the early rally, the securities regulator said.

China Property

China’s new home prices rose in July for a third month in all but one city, led by gains in the biggest metropolitan centers on anticipation the government will focus on a longer-term housing plan rather than immediate curbs.
Country Garden Holdings Co. dropped 2.2 percent to HK$4.93 in Hong Kong, pacing losses among Chinese developers.
“If prices rise too quickly, it does encourage the mainland authorities to come back with some policy measures to try to cool the market,” Andrew Lawrence, a Hong Kong-based analyst at CIMB Group Holdings Bhd., told Bloomberg TV. “This rise in prices will concern investors with regards to policy responses.”
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) gained less than 0.1 percent today. The U.S. gauge lost 0.3 percent on Aug. 16, capping its biggest weekly drop in almost two months, as investors weighed data showing housing starts climbed in July while a gauge of consumer confidence fell.
Tokyo Electric Power retreated 3.9 percent to 620 yen. Two workers at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant were today exposed to radiation near a quake-resistant building, after the radioactivity alarm of a dust monitor went off, according to an e-mailed statement from the utility.
Bluescope tumbled 16 percent to A$4.61 after forecasting profit this half won’t beat the preceding six months.
JX Holdings advanced 3.2 percent to 543 yen in Tokyo. Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley upgraded the shares to outperform from neutral
To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Haigh in Sydney at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sarah McDonald at smcdonald23@bloomberg.net