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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Asian Stocks Fall as Oil Climbs; Toyota, Samsung Lead Declines |
| 2004-08-15 |
| (It's going to be a real rough week in the stock markets, but very bullish for oil.) Aug. 16th (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks dropped as oil prices climbed and U.S. economic reports signaled that consumers may spend less on goods made by exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. because of higher fuel costs. ``We're right in the middle of pricing in the potential impact of surging oil prices and a slowdown in the global economy,'' said Yasumasa Nishimura, who manages $181 million in Japanese equities at Dai-Ichi Kangyo Asset Management Co. The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index, which tracks the performance of more than 900 companies, slid 1.1 percent to 85.03 as of 11 a.m. in Tokyo. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average shed 1.7 percent to 10,578.62, while South Korea's Kospi index dropped 0.5 percent to 772.04. Shares of BHP Billiton and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., which produce and explore for oil, gained. Crude oil futures rose to a record on concern that supply from Venezuela, the fourth- largest exporter to the U.S., may be disrupted by violence after a referendum yesterday on whether to recall President Hugo Chavez. All other benchmarks in the region's markets open for trading dropped, except for those in Singapore, the Philippines and New Zealand. Toyota, the world's biggest automaker by market value, lost 2.2 percent to 4,110 yen. The company gets 80 percent of its operating profit from North America. Samsung Electronics, South Korea's largest exporter, shed 1.9 percent to 429,500 won. Nintendo Co., the world's biggest maker of handheld game consoles, sank 1.1 percent to 12,170 yen. The company gets more than two-thirds of its profit from exports. Taiwan's Quanta Computer Inc., the world's largest notebook computer maker, shed 2.6 percent to NT$55.50. Record Oil Price Crude oil for September delivery rose 0.4 percent to $46.75 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. A gunman fired on voters, killing one person and injuring another 12 in Venezuela's capital Caracas, as they stood in line to vote on the referendum. Oil prices are up 51 percent from a year ago. In the U.S., the trade deficit ballooned in June to a record $55.8 billion as imports of crude oil surged, the Commerce Department said in Washington on Friday. Energy prices there, which were 11.3 percent higher in July than the same month last year, have chipped away at incomes and caused spending on other goods and services to slow. The U.S. is the biggest destination for the region's goods. U.S. consumer confidence fell for the first time in three months, dropping to 94 in August from 96.7 in July, the University of Michigan's preliminary index of consumer sentiment showed. BHP, Japan Petroleum ``Both high oil prices and the U.S. trade deficit will be further blows to Asian countries,'' said Paul Tsai, who manages $14 million at International Investment Trust Co. in Taipei. Shares of the region's oil producers and explorers advanced on optimism higher prices will bolster earnings. BHP, Australia's biggest oil producer, advanced 1 percent to A$13.12. Woodside Petroleum Ltd., the nation's second-biggest producer, rose 1.2 percent to A$18.93. Japan Petroleum added 1.8 percent to 4,560 yen. The company, also known as Japex, on Friday raised its first-half profit forecast by 59 percent to 4.87 billion yen ($43.5 million) as higher oil prices boosted the value of its inventory. |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |