What a difference a day makes, along with some rose colored spectacles.
Retail sales up due to autos, which are heavily weighted towards imports, which have risen in price due to weak dollar.
Whatever. Makes good headlines and brings in the buyers
Tweak the numbers when needed
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Asian Stocks Fall on Speculation China to Raise Interest Rates
By Darren Boey and Chua Kong Ho
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Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell on speculation China will raise interest rates as soon as today to cool the economy, and after Sony Corp.'s mobile-phone unit reported its first profit decline in two years.
Sony had the biggest drop in more than a month after its venture with Sweden's Ericsson AB said third-quarter profit fell 10 percent. Key indexes in China and Hong Kong declined from records as China reported a $23.9 billion trade surplus for September that may fan inflation, forcing the central bank to raise borrowing costs.
``There's this fear that any measure to slow the growth in China will affect the rest of the region,'' said Ivan Tham, who helps oversee $4 billion at City of London Investment Management Co. in Singapore.
Japan's Nikon Corp., which makes cameras, and Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corp. slid on downgrades at brokerages. Fast Retailing Co., Asia's biggest clothing retailer, fell after missing its full-year profit forecast.
The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia Pacific Index lost 1 percent to 168.17 at 6:31 p.m. in Tokyo, the most since Sept. 18. Nine of the measure's 10 industry groups fell. China's CSI 300 Index dropped 0.4 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped 1 percent from a high yesterday.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.7 percent, and South Korea's Kospi index dropped 1.6 percent. Most of Asia's key indexes fell from yesterday's records. Bourses in Indonesia and the Philippines were closed today for holidays.
Chinese Developers, Banks
Chinese developers and banks fell on concern higher interest rates will make it more costly to borrow money to finance property purchases. China Vanke Co., the country's largest listed real-estate developer, slid 4 percent to 32.89 yuan.
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the nation's largest lender, fell 2.1 percent to HK$6.66 in Hong Kong. Bank of China Ltd., the country's third-biggest lender, dropped 2.3 percent to HK$4.69.
China's CSI 300 has jumped 50 percent in the past three months, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index has climbed 46 percent. The two measures are the best performers in that time among 89 stock benchmarks tracked by Bloomberg News.
A possible rate increase in China is ``a profit-taking excuse,'' said James Johnstone, who helps oversee about $100 million at Alcor Investment Management in Singapore.
China's trade surplus rose 56 percent in September, the country's customs bureau said today. The surplus beat the $21.6 billion median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg News survey.
Sony, Dainippon Screen
Sony, whose venture with Ericsson is the world's fourth- largest maker of mobile phones, slid 4.3 percent to 5,530 yen, the most since Sept. 10.
Technology shares in the U.S. fell yesterday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its third-quarter sales estimate for Baidu.com Inc., China's most-popular Internet search engine. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 0.5 percent.
Asian technology shares fell after Shin Horie and fellow analysts at Goldman, Sachs & Co. cut their rating on Nikon to ``sell'' from ``neutral'' on expectations the market for chip-and screen-making-equipment will shrink. Nikon is Japan's largest maker of steppers, machines that burn chip circuits onto silicon. The stock slid 8 percent to 3,910 yen, the most since Aug. 17.
The Goldman analysts also lowered their recommendation on Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co. to ``sell'' from ``buy'' and Tokyo Electron Ltd. to ``neutral'' from ``buy.''
Dainippon Screen, a maker of semiconductor-manufacturing equipment, slumped 8.6 percent to 692 yen. Tokyo Electron, the world's second-largest chip-equipment maker, slipped 1.2 percent to 7,300 yen.
`Bad Results'
United Microelectronics, the world's second-largest custom- chip maker, slipped 4.9 percent to NT$21.30 in Taiwan. William Dong, an analyst at UBS AG, lowered his recommendation on the stock to ``neutral'' from ``buy,'' saying it lacks a ``catalyst'' and citing the company's ``seasonal slowdown.''
Companies reliant on U.S. sales fell after U.S. retailers posted lower-than-expected September sales. Hong Kong's Li & Fung Ltd., which supplies Wal-Mart Stores Inc., lost 1.5 percent to HK$33.50.
Nintendo Co., which derived 41 percent of its sales last fiscal year from North and South America, fell 2 percent to 67,700 yen. The company is the world's biggest maker of handheld game players. Australia's James Hardie Industries NV, the biggest seller of home siding in the U.S., dropped 2.7 percent to A$7.32.
Almost two-thirds of U.S. retailers posted sales results below analysts' expectations, Retail Metrics LLC, a research firm based in Massachusetts, said yesterday. J.C. Penney Co., the third-largest U.S. department-store chain, and Nordstrom Inc. lowered their third-quarter profit forecasts.
``Some of the U.S. retailers announced bad results, and basically they're saying: slowing U.S. consumption,'' said Christopher Fawcett, who manages $6.3 billion at Fauchier Partners in London. ``The reality is there're a lot of Asian exporters to the U.S. consumer.''
Bank of China Ltd. (3988 HK)
China Vanke Co. (000002 CH)
Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co. (7735 JT)
Fast Retailing Co. (9983 JT)
Li & Fung Ltd. (494 HK)
James Hardie Industries NV (JHX AU)
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (1398 HK)
Nikon Corp. (7731 JT)
Nintendo Co. (7974 JO)
Sony Corp. (6758 JT)
Tokyo Electron Ltd. (8035 JT)
United Microelectronics Corp. (2303 TT)
To contact the reporter for this story: Darren Boey in Hong Kong at dboey@bloomberg.net . |
