BLBG:Asian Stocks Pare Losses Ahead of German Vote on Euro Rescue
Asian stocks pared losses on speculation German lawmakers will approve a measure to expand a bailout fund for Europe’s debt-stricken nations and as orders for U.S. capital goods unexpectedly climbed.
Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s second-biggest maker of mobile phones by sales, climbed 4.8 percent in Seoul. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan’s largest lender, gained 1.7 percent on optimism the German vote will ease concerns about the global financial system. BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), the world’s largest mining company and Australia’s No. 1 oil and gas producer, declined 2.2 percent after crude and metals prices fell.
“It’s all about Europe,” said Kenichi Hirano, general manager and strategist at Tachibana Securities Co. in Tokyo. “The focus is whether they can establish a unity, and the market’s going through ups and downs according to developments.”
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.1 percent to 113.69 as of 1:53 p.m. in Tokyo, with more than four stocks rising for every five three that fell. The measure is headed for a 9 percent decline this month, the most since October 2008 when credit markets froze following the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Ltd.
To contact the reporters on this story: Jonathan Burgos in Singapore at jburgos4@bloomberg.net; Yoshiaki Nohara in Tokyo at ynohara1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story John McCluskey at j.mccluskey@bloomberg.net.
