Asian Stocks: Japan's Sony, DoCoMo Drop; S. Korea, Taiwan Fall
By Michael Tsang
quote.bloomberg.com
Tokyo, May 10 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks fell, led by Sony Corp. and other exporters, after U.S. retailers had slower sales growth in April, renewing concern consumer spending in their biggest export market will remain sluggish.
The Nikkei 225 stock average fell 0.7 percent to 11,557.89. The Topix index lost 0.7 percent to 1083.87, with NTT DoCoMo Inc. as its biggest decliner. DoCoMo and two other cellular phone operators said they added fewer subscribers in April, posting their worst ever year-on-year decline in subscriber growth.
``Slowing retail sales hurts investor sentiment and is another piece of evidence that the U.S. recovery may be slow in picking up pace,'' said Muneyuki Tsuji, who helps manage 800 billion yen ($6.2 billion) at Japan Investment Trust Management Co. ``DoCoMo and other mobile phone companies are fighting each other to grab customers in a market that is no longer growing.''
In other markets, South Korea's Kospi index lost 1.5 percent after UBS Warburg Securities Ltd. downgraded its rating for Samsung Electronics Co. Taiwan's TWSE Index fell 0.3 percent, led by Asustek Computer Inc. after it reported lower sales in April.
In New Zealand, the Top 40 Index advanced 0.9 percent, led by Telecom Corp., after its earnings beat forecasts. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.3 percent as SingTel Optus Ltd. declined for a second day after its full-year loss more than doubled.
Exporters
Japanese exporters paced declines on concern the pace of recovery in the world's biggest economy may slow. Sales at stores open at least a year rose 1.6 percent in April, according to Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd.'s index of 78 chains, less than its forecast of a 3.5 percent increase.
Sony, which relies on U.S. sales for a third of its revenue, shed 0.4 percent to 6,970 yen. Canon Inc., Japan's largest office- equipment maker, fell 0.4 percent to 4,900 yen.
DoCoMo, KDDI Corp. and Vodafone Group Plc's J-Phone Co. unit, Japan's three largest mobile-phone companies, slumped after they added 41 percent fewer subscribers in April than the same month a year earlier. That underscored concern Japan's wireless market, the world's second-biggest by value, may be nearing saturation.
DoCoMo dropped 3.7 percent to 313,000 yen. The world's No. 1 mobile-phone company said it added 273,000 cellular subscribers in April, fewer than half the number for the same month a year ago. KDDI, Japan's No. 2 mobile-phone operator, shed 0.3 percent to 357,000 yen.
South Korea
The Kospi dropped 13.37 to 825.30, its fourth decline in five days. Samsung Electronics slumped 5.9 percent to 340,500 won after UBS Warburg cut its recommendation on the world's biggest memory chipmaker by two notches to ``hold'' from a ``strong buy.''
Falling chip prices also sent the stock lower. The spot price of the benchmark dynamic random access memory chip declined 3.4 percent yesterday, according to DrameXchange.com, damping earlier optimism sparked by Cisco System Inc.'s better-than-expected earnings.
``There isn't enough evidence to justify optimism for a quick recovery in demand,'' said Kim Joon Kie, a strategist at SK Securities Co. in Seoul.
Hyundai Motor Co. dropped 3.7 percent to 45,700 won on concern Korea's biggest carmaker won't be able to sustain its earnings growth this year, analysts said.
Taiwan
The TWSE Index declined 14.25 to 5725.03, snapping a three- day gain. Asustek fell 0.4 percent to NT$121.5 after the island's largest computer motherboard manufacturer said sales in April declined 9.4 percent from the previous month.
Quanta Computer Inc. dropped 2.9 percent to NT$102. Taiwan's largest notebook computer maker said sales declined 18 percent from the previous month.
``Inventory at the personal computer-related companies might be increasing,'' said Charles Hsu, who helps manage NT$800 million ($23 million) in Taiwan equities at First Global Investment Trust Co. ``I want to see if demand for electronics has really returned.''
New Zealand, Australia
In New Zealand, the Top 40 Index climbed 17.87 to 2059.85. Telecom added 1.6 percent to a three-week high of NZ$4.96. The country's biggest phone company said third-quarter net income rose more than expected as it cut costs and trimmed losses at its Australian Internet and business phone unit.
``The positive surprise has come out of Australia,'' said Paul Robertshawe, who holds the stock among the $339 million of shares he helps manage at Tower Asset Management Ltd. in Wellington.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index shed 3.40 to 3335.10. SingTel Optus lost 2 percent to A$1.51. Losses at the unit of Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. widened to A$402 million ($218 million) in the year to March 31 from A$149.7 million the previous year.
Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia's No. 2 gold miner, rose 3.1 percent to A$6.91. The spot price of the precious metal rose 0.6 percent, extending its gain this year to 12 percent. |
