BLBG:Asian Stocks Swing Between Gains, Losses as Commodity Prices, Yen Advance
Asian stocks swung between gains and losses as rising oil and metal oil price pushed energy and mining shares higher, while the Japanese yen’s advance weighed on exporters.
Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL), an Australian oil and gas producer, added 1.5 percent. Honda Motor Co. (7267), Japan’s second- largest carmaker by market value, dropped 2.3 percent as the yen rose even after Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda called for the central bank to take “bold” action to stem the currency. NEC Corp. (6701), a Japanese electronics maker, slid 7.7 percent after announcing 10,000 job cuts and forecasting its third annual loss in four years. GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd. led gains among solar-panel makers on speculation investment in China and Germany will rise.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (TPX) was little changed at 122.54 as of 1:59 p.m. in Tokyo. The measure has risen 1.5 percent this week, set for a sixth weekly gain, the longest streak since the period ended Oct. 15.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.4 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi Index rose 0.1 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost less than 0.1 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2 percent. Stock markets in China, Vietnam and Taiwan are shut today for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.3 percent today. The gauge lost 0.6 percent in New York yesterday as reports showed that sales of new homes declined in December, claims for U.S. jobless benefits rose last week, and durable goods orders beat estimates last month. The Federal Reserve on Jan. 25 extended its pledge to keep interest rates low and said it is considering additional asset purchases to spur growth.
‘Boosting Commodities’
“The U.S. housing and employment data looks weak, and it isn’t a problem that will be easily solved,” said Seiichiro Iwamoto, who helps oversee about $35 billion at Mizuho Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. “The whole world is moving toward monetary easing. Europe and the U.S. are injecting a lot of liquidity, and that’s boosting commodities.”
Energy and mining shares rose as crude oil for March delivery was at $99.98 a barrel, up 28 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The London Metal Exchange Index of prices for six industrial metals including copper and aluminum rose 2.4 percent yesterday.
Woodside, Inpex
Woodside Petroleum added 1.5 percent to A$34.48. Inpex Corp. (1662), Japan’s No. 1 energy explorer, advanced 2.5 percent to 526,000 yen, while smaller Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. climbed 1.3 percent to 3,420 yen.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (TPX) gained 7.7 percent this year through yesterday, compared with increases of 4.8 percent by the S&P 500 and 5.4 percent by the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Stocks in the Asian benchmark are valued at 1.3 times book value. That compares with 2.1 times for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index in the U.S. and 1.4 times for the Europe Stoxx 600 Index in Europe.
Gains in Asian stocks were limited as the yen advanced against all 16 major counterparts. A stronger yen erodes Japanese exporters’ overseas earnings when repatriated home.
Honda slid 2.3 percent to 2,678 yen. Sony Corp. (6758), Japan’s No. 1 exporter of consumer electronics, fell 1.8 percent to 1,408 yen. James Hardie Industries SE (JHX), a building-materials supplier that gets almost 70 percent of sales from the U.S., slid 1.2 percent to A$7.26 in Sydney.
NEC slumped 7.7 percent to 155 yen after the maker of mobile phones, computers and wireless gear yesterday forecast a 100 billion-yen loss for the year ending March 31, abandoning a previous outlook for a 15 billion-yen profit. It will also take a charge of 40 billion yen for the job cuts, the Tokyo-based company said.
GCL-Poly Energy added 4 percent to HK$2.59 after a proposal in Germany to limit total installations and cut subsidies failed to get unanimous backing, according to a lawmaker.
China may double its solar installations this year, absorbing excess production of panels that depressed prices and margins in 2011, the heads of two of the industry’s top five manufacturers said yesterday.
To contact the reporter on this story: Yoshiaki Nohara in Tokyo at ynohara1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John McCluskey at j.mccluskey@bloomberg.net
