Most Asian Stocks Fall, led by Japanese Automakers; Steel Producers Climb - Bloomberg

By Shani Raja - Sep 7, 2010 12:49 PM GMT+0800

Most Asian stocks fell, led by Japanese automakers, on concern a stronger yen will hurt the value of overseas sales. Steel producers rose after U.S. President Barack Obama proposed a $50 billion spending plan and Chinese steel prices jumped.

Nissan Motor Co., which gets 15 percent of its sales in Europe, lost 1.9 percent in Tokyo while Nintendo Co., the world’s largest maker of video-game consoles, dropped 1.2 percent in Osaka as the yen advanced against the euro. Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. sank 1.6 percent on speculation competition will intensify. Posco, the world’s No. 3 steelmaker, climbed 5.1 percent in Seoul as Obama called for a program to fix roads, railways and runways.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.3 percent to 121.48 as of 1:48 p.m. in Tokyo, with two stocks dropping for each one that rose. The gauge rallied 4.6 percent in the past four days amid optimism the U.S. economy will avoid falling back into a recession. Companies in the index are valued at an average 13.9 times estimated profit, the highest level since Aug. 20.

“Markets may be taking a breather after four straight days of gains,” said Nader Naeimi, a Sydney-based strategist at AMP Capital Investors Ltd., which manages $85 billion. “We haven’t seen convincing signs that the yen will substantially weaken, and that’s bad news for the Japanese economy and share market.”

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 0.9 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index sank 0.4 percent. South Korea’s Kospi Index dropped 0.2 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was little changed after the central bank kept interest rates steady, as anticipated by economists in a Bloomberg survey.

Yen Strength

Futures on the U.S. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed. U.S. markets are due to resume trading later today after a holiday yesterday.

Nissan lost 1.9 percent to 668 yen in Tokyo, while Honda Motor Co., which makes 84 percent of its revenue abroad, slipped 1.4 percent to 2,814 yen after the yen appreciated to 107.70 per euro from 108.42. Nintendo declined 1.2 percent to 23,340 yen.

“As the yen is an important element that moves the market, its gain may weigh on Japanese stocks,” said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, a strategist at Tokyo-based SMBC Friend Securities Co.

Singapore Telecommunications, Southeast Asia’s biggest phone company, dropped 1.6 percent to S$3.06 and Starhub Ltd., Singapore’s second-biggest phone operator, declined 2.8 percent to S$2.42 on competition concerns.

The InfoComm Development Authority of Singapore is seeking bids for three lots of radio frequencies allocated for 3G mobile services, according to a copy of auction rules published by the regulator on its website.

Infrastructure Bank

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slumped as much as 5.3 percent from a three-month high on Aug. 6 amid concerns over global growth. The yen’s advance to a 15-year high against the U.S. dollar threatened to reduce the value of Japanese export earnings, while U.S. reports showed slower-than-estimated growth in incomes and a record plunge in home sales.

At a rally for Labor Day yesterday, President Obama called for an “infrastructure bank” and requested money to rebuild 150,000 miles (241,400 kilometers) of roads, construct and maintain 4,000 miles of rail, and overhaul 150 miles of runways to help spur an economy that’s lost jobs for three straight months.

Posco climbed 5.1 percent to 507,000 won in Seoul today. JFE Holdings Inc., Japan’s second-largest steelmaker, surged 2.9 percent to 2,708 yen in Tokyo. BlueScope Steel Ltd., Australia’s largest steelmaker, advanced 1.7 percent to A$2.37 in Sydney.

“Obama’s plan is helping steelmakers,” said AMP Capital’s Naeimi. “The recovery from the 2008 recession was always going be on the back of physical infrastructure spending.”

Maanshan Iron & Steel Co., China’s second-biggest Hong Kong-traded steelmaker, climbed 5.3 percent to HK$4.81. Angang Steel Co. rose 4.2 percent to HK$13.06. Benchmark hot-rolled coil prices in China rose 3.5 percent yesterday as producers in Hebei province shut mills.

The rally for China’s steelmakers and metal prices has “further upside” as the government introduces stricter prices to reduce energy consumption by the end of the year, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.