July 19 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell after revenue at Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and General Electric Co. missed analyst estimates and a gauge of U.S. consumer confidence sank to the lowest in a year. James Hardie Industries SE, the biggest seller of home siding in the U.S., slumped 1.6 percent in Sydney on concern demand for its products will fall. Li & Fung Ltd., the biggest supplier to retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., dropped 2.6 percent in Hong Kong. BHP Billiton Ltd. lost 1.1 percent in Sydney following declines in metal prices last week. Aquarius Platinum Ltd. tumbled 23 percent on concern new directives from South Africa’s mines inspector will hurt earnings. The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index dropped 1.2 percent to 390.43 as of 12:16 p.m. in Hong Kong. Japanese markets are shut today for a holiday. The MSCI gauge fell by the most since July 1 and has slumped 6.3 percent this year on concern European budget deficits and Chinese measures to curb property prices will crimp global growth. “The results by market heavyweights such as Citigroup, Bank of America and General Electric point to a U.S. economy in a recovery mode that is, at best, patchy,” said Tim Schroeders, who helps manage about $1.1 billion at Pengana Capital Ltd. in Melbourne. “The recovery may require fiscal stimulus to get to a point of being self-sustaining.” The S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 1.3 percent in Australia, where Prime Minister Julia Gillard over the weekend set a date for a national election. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slumped 1 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.4 percent. Consumer Sentiment The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.9 percent, led by property developers after Citic Securities Co. said local governments will build more low-income housing. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.1 percent. The gauge plunged 2.9 percent on July 16 as the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment fell more than economists estimated. Bank of America, the largest U.S. bank by assets, slid 9.2 percent. “The revenue misses, coupled with the softer U.S. consumer confidence number, served to reinforce the possibility of growth stalling in the U.S.,” said Angus Gluskie, who oversees $300 million at White Funds Management Pty in Sydney. James Hardie slumped 1.6 percent to A$6.11 in Sydney and Westfield Group, which runs shopping malls in the U.S., lost 0.9 percent to A$12.36. U.S. Sales Li & Fung retreated 2.6 percent to HK$35.55 in Hong Kong. Samsung Electronics Co., which gets a fifth of its sales in America, sank 1.1 percent to 793,000 won in Seoul and LG Electronics Inc., South Korea’s No. 2 electronics maker, fell 1 percent to 97,700 won. A gauge of consumer stocks in the MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index lost 1.4 percent, the most among 10 industry groups. Measures of financial companies and raw- material producers dropped at least 1.3 percent. Copper futures fell 2.7 percent in New York on July 16 and gold lost 1.7 percent, while a gauge of primary metals traded in London slipped 2.4 percent. Crude oil fell for a fourth day in electronic trading today. BHP declined 1.1 percent to A$37.74, while Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third-largest mining company, sank 1 percent to A$65.10. Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia’s biggest gold producer, slumped 1.9 percent to A$33.66. Sundance Resources Ltd. plunged 7.7 percent to 12 Australian cents, resuming trading today after a plane crash last month that killed key executives and board members. Aquarius Platinum plunged 23 percent to A$4.03 after saying new directives from the Principal Inspector of Mines in South Africa may have a “detrimental economic effect” on some mines. Australian Election Australian commodity stocks also fell as Prime Minister Gillard called a general election for Aug. 21, setting the stage for a battle that will determine whether the nation’s resources companies pay higher taxes. “Some investors will start to speculate on the outcome as preliminary polls emerge, so we can expect to see share prices bouncing around with the ebb and flow of investor sentiment,” said White Funds’ Gluskie. In Hong Kong, Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., the listed unit of China’s largest maker of the lightweight metal, dropped 2.9 percent to HK$5.98. Zijin Mining Group Co. fell 2.6 percent to HK$4.52 after the Chinese metal maker said investigators found a “substantial leakage” of waste water at a copper plant. Lower Valuations Finance companies as a group were the biggest drag on the MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index on concern a stalling recovery will crimp credit growth. HSBC Holdings Plc., Europe’s biggest bank, dropped 2.1 percent to HK$74.05, while in Sydney, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the nation’s largest lender by market value, declined 1.7 percent to A$50.51. The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index’s slump this year has driven the average price of shares in the gauge to 12.6 times estimated earnings, lower than the 13 times for the S&P 500 gauge and 13.9 times for the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, which also tracks Japanese equities. Both Asian gauges were little changed last week as reports of a contraction in U.S. manufacturing and a slowing Chinese economy countered record sales at Intel Corp. and economic expansion in Singapore. China’s export growth is expected to slow in the second half as the government removes tax rebates and Europe’s debt crisis worsens, the China Securities Journal reported today. Low-Income Housing In Shanghai, Poly Real Estate Group Co. advanced 1.5 percent to 11.43 yuan and China Merchants Property Development Co. climbed 3.2 percent to 14.10 yuan after Citic Securities said local governments will step up construction of low-income housing to boost investment. “Expectations that the government will boost domestic demand has spurred optimism that earnings at these companies will bottom out,” said Wang Zheng, a fund manager at Jingxi Investment Management Co. in Shanghai. China Eastern Airlines Corp. added 3.5 percent to 6.83 yuan after Shenyin & Wanguo Securities Co. said the industry will benefit from a government plan to boost domestic consumption. --With assistance from Zhang Shidong in Shanghai. Editors: Darren Boey, Nick Gentle. To contact the reporters for this story: Shani Raja in Sydney at sraja4@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Darren Boey at dboey@bloomberg.net.

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