Japanese stocks fell after Elpida Memory Inc. filed for the biggest bankruptcy in two years and the yen strengthened. Oil declined and South Korea’s won advanced.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKY) slid 0.9 percent as of 9:49 a.m. in Tokyo. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid less than 0.2 percent and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures were little changed. The won added 0.2 percent against the U.S. dollar, while the euro held a decline against most of its major peers. Oil dropped 0.5 percent to $107.99 a barrel.
Elpida, unprofitable in each of the past five quarters, filed for bankruptcy yesterday as semiconductor prices plunged and it failed to win a second government bailout. Standard & Poor’s cut Greece’s credit ratings to “Selective Default” after it negotiated the biggest sovereign debt restructuring in history. Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd., PCCW Ltd. and Sino Land Co. are among Hong Kong companies set to report earnings today.
Goodman Fielder Ltd. (GFF), Australia’s biggest baker, surged 30 percent. Wilmar International Ltd., the world’s largest palm-oil processor, is seeking to buy a 10 percent stake in the company, according to a statement from Goodman Fielder.
To contact the reporter on this story: Lynn Thomasson in Hong Kong at lthomasson@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net
