Most Asian stocks fell, as declines in cargo rates and crude-oil prices dragged down shipping lines and oil producers. Telstra Corp, Australia’s largest telephone company, rose on optimism it will avoid a breakup.
STX Pan Ocean Co, South Korea’s largest bulk-shipping line, dropped 1.5 per cent in Seoul, and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Japan’s third-largest line, fell 2.3 per cent in Tokyo. BHP Billiton Ltd, Australia’s largest oil producer, lost 0.4 per cent. Telstra climbed 2.8 per cent after a newspaper said the Australian government may fail to force the company to split.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed at 122.67 as of 7:08 pm in Tokyo, with about seven shares declining for every six that advanced. The index closed yesterday at its highest since January 21. It has risen 74 per cent since March 9 last year, when it sank to its lowest level since the September 2008 bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
“People cannot make up their minds about what to do,” said Tim Leung, who helps manage about $1.5 billion at IG Investment in Hong Kong. “I will expect the market to be quiet and drifting. On the whole, the growth outlook is pretty positive.”
The MSCI index moved 0.34 point from high to low today, the narrowest range since at least January 1. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index and South Korea’s Kospi Index were all little changed. Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.8 per cent, the biggest move among Asia- Pacific equity benchmarks.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.7 per cent, even as the country’s trade surplus shrank to the lowest level in a year.
Lehman anniversary
“We don’t have a strong catalyst, so I’m expecting stocks to drift without a clear direction,” said Hiroichi Nishi, an equities manager at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc in Tokyo.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped less than 0.1 per cent. Yesterday in New York, the gauge rose almost 0.2 per cent on the anniversary of its 2009 bear-market low, amid speculation the economy will continue to recover from the worst contraction since the Great Depression.
Toyota Motor Corp, the world’s biggest carmaker, retreated 1.4 per cent to ¥3,445 and was the heaviest drag on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. The carmaker is expanding a recall of Tundra pickup trucks in the US for frame corrosion that can damage brake lines and dislodge spare tires.
STX Pan Ocean dropped 1.5 per cent to 13,150 won after the Baltic Dry Index, a measure of shipping costs for commodities, slid 1.5 per cent yesterday, its first drop since February 24. Korea Line Corp declined 3 per cent to 49,100 won. Kawasaki Kisen lost 2.3 per cent to ¥347 in Tokyo. China Cosco Holdings Co, the operator of the world’s largest dry-bulk fleet, dropped 1.7 per cent to HK$10.50 in Hong Kong.
Oil declines
BHP Billiton slipped 0.4 per cent to A$43.24. Crude oil for April delivery fell 0.5 per cent in electronic today in New York after a similar drop yesterday. Santos Ltd, Australia’s third- biggest oil and gas producer, decreased 1.3 per cent to A$13.90.
Alesco Corp, an Australian maker of building-materials and home products, tumbled 32 per cent to A$3.12 after cutting its full-year profit forecast and analysts slashed ratings.
