Asian scrips decline

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian stocks dropped for the first time in three days, led by BHP Billiton and Foster's group, as oil traded near a one-week low and the Australian dollar climbed to its highest in 10 years.

Crude oil fell to its lowest since March 28 after Iran released 15 British sailors and marines, easing concern oil supplies will be disrupted.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index declined 0.4 per cent to 146.28 at 7:49 pm in Tokyo. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 0.3 per cent.

Markets dropped, except in Malaysia, Singapore, India and Pakistan, while China climbed to a record for a fourth day. Hong Kong, the Philippines and Taiwan were shut for holidays.

BHP, Australia's largest oil and gas company, fell 1 per cent to A$30.33. Inpex Holdings, Japan's biggest oil explorer, slid 2.5 per cent to 975,000 yen. Nippon Oil Corp, the nation's biggest petroleum refiner, slumped 3.4 per cent, to 914 yen. SK Corp, South Korea's biggest refiner, lost 1.5 per cent to 92,000 won.

Foster's fell 2.7 per cent to A$6.82. Aristocrat Leisure Ltd, the world's No 2 maker of slot machines, dropped 2 per cent to A$16.13.

Technology shares rose after a Microsoft report from Citigroup raised speculation industry profits will pick up.

US

US stocks fell for the first time this week, led by railroad companies, after Norfolk Southern Corp said first-quarter profit declined because of lower shipments.

Transportation shares retreated the most among two dozen industry groups in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. Data today also showed more US workers filed first-time claims for unemployment benefits last week. The data precede the government's March employment report tomorrow that may show the jobless rate increased.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 2.03, or 0.1 per cent, to 1437.34 as of 9:41 am in New York. The Dow average declined 23.24, or 0.2 per cent, to 12,506.81. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 2.29, or 0.1 per cent, to 2456.40.

Europe

European banking stocks gained after the Bank of England left its benchmark interest rate unchanged.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index added less than 0.1 per cent to 380.02 at 2:15 pm in London. The Stoxx 50 increased 0.1 per cent and the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 13 nations sharing the euro, rose 0.2 per cent. Markets are shut tomorrow for Good Friday.

The nine-member Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee kept the rate at 5.25 per cent, as predicted by all except eight of the 60 economists in a Bloomberg survey. The rest expected a quarter-point increase, and a majority of economists forecast the rate will rise to 5.5 per cent by May.

National benchmarks rose 15 of the 16 markets in western Europe that were open. France's CAC 40 added 0.1 per cent, while Germany's DAX and the UK's FTSE 100 gained 0.3 per cent.

HSBC, Europe's biggest bank by market value, increased 0.7 per cent to 898 pence. Barclays, the UK bank negotiating to buy ABN Amro Holding, climbed 0.8 per cent to 732.5 pence.

Air France-KLM advanced 3.4 per cent to 36.33 euros after Deutsche Bank increased its rating on Europe's biggest airline to "buy'' from "hold''.

With an increase to the fuel surcharge on ticket prices announced March 22, Air France-KLM "have again demonstrated they have no fear of raising prices to ensure full value is extracted,'' Deutsche Bank said.

Scottish & Newcastle lost 1.5 per cent to 597 pence. Shares of the UK's largest brewer were cut to "sell'' from "hold'' at ING Groep and downgraded to "reduce'' from "hold'' at Dresdner Kleinwort.