Asian stocks declined for a third straight week, with the regional benchmark index within a percent of erasing last month’s gains, amid concern about China’s property sector and evidence that Europe’s debt crisis is infecting major economies.
HSBC Holdings PLC and Commonwealth Bank of Australia led declines among lenders amid concern about contagion in Europe as Spain holds a general election this weekend.
China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd (中國海外發展有限公司), the biggest mainland developer listed in Hong Kong, slid 6.9 percent after home prices in 33 Chinese cities dropped and the country’s banking regulator said loans to developers may sour.
BHP Billiton Ltd, the world’s biggest mining company, fell 4.4 percent as copper futures dropped for a third week.
“There will be pressure on European banks as the crisis drags on and that might have some global impact,” said Yoji Takeda, who manages about US$1.1 billion at RBC Investment Management (Asia) Ltd in Hong Kong.
“China is trying to fine-tune its monetary policy to orchestrate a soft landing, but at the same time they want to see lower property prices,” he said.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 2.7 percent to 114.20 this week, extending a three-week decline to 8.4 percent, as bond yields in Italy and Spain surged near the 7 percent threshold that led Greece, Ireland and Portugal to seek bailouts.
IN TAIWAN, THE TAIEX FELL 2.1 PERCENT TO 7,233.78 ON FRIDAY, THE LOWEST SINCE OCT. 7.
The gauge declined 1.8 percent this week.
“After the plunge, the local bourse has become technically weak,” Hua Nan Securities (華南永昌證券) analyst Henry Miao (苗台生) said.
“As long as the impact of the European debt crisis persists, it is possible for the index to test the crucial 7,000 points in the short term,” he added.
AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) sank 6.1 percent to NT$13.75 and Chimei Innolux Corp (奇美電子) lost 6 percent to NT$13.25. The two companies have asked suppliers to extend payment deadlines from 120 days to 150 days, the Commercial Times reported, citing officials it didn’t identify.
Freda Lee, a spokeswoman for AU Optronics, said the company is reviewing payment terms with various suppliers. Loretta Chen, a spokeswoman for Chimei, was not immediately available for comment.
China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼) dropped 1.8 percent to NT$28, the lowest since July 16 last year. Taiwan’s largest producer of the metal is in talks with BHP Billiton Ltd, Rio Tinto Group and Vale SA to delay or cut iron ore and coking coal deliveries as lower output reduces raw-material needs, an official said, declining to be identified, citing company policy.
Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) surged 6.8 percent to NT$2.67. The memorychip maker sold 10.83 billion shares at NT$2.77 each in a private placement to group companies, according to a company statement to the Taiwan stock exchange.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 3.4 percent this week, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.6 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 1.6 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 2.8 percent.
India’s SENSEX slumped 2.1 percent, the most among the Asia-Pacific indexes, as the rupee dropped against the US dollar for a third week as Europe’s worsening debt crisis prompted investors to favor safer assets, such as the US dollar.
In other markets on Friday:
Mumbai fell 0.55 percent, or 90.2 points, from Thursday to close at 16,371.51. Engineering giant Bharat Heavy Electricals fell 3.06 percent to 275.95 rupees while troubled Kingfisher Airlines slid 3.61 percent to 24.05 rupees.
Manila dropped 0.74 percent, or 32.23 points, from Thursday to 4,302.43.
Lepanto Mining gained 3.6 percent to 1.43 pesos and Ayala Land is off 2.6 percent at 16.48 pesos. Debut stock Cirtek Holdings rose 13.6 percent to 7.95 pesos from an IPO price of 7.00 pesos.
Wellington fell 0.91 percent, or 24.85 points, to 3,250.89.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
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