Asian stocks slumped this week, extending the biggest global rout in six months that wiped out the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s yearly gains in one session amid weak earnings and credit market concerns.
Skymark Airlines Inc sank 11 percent after Japan’s third-largest carrier said it could go out of business if it has to pay Airbus Group NV a penalty for canceling the purchase of six A380 superjumbos, while Samsung Electronics Co fell 3.8 percent in Seoul after UBS AG cut its rating on the stock and Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd (長江實業) slid 4.7 percent in Hong Kong after the property developer controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing (李嘉誠) posted profit that missed estimates.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1 percent to 147.35 points as of 4:39pm in Hong Kong on Friday, heading for its largest drop since May 7, as nine of its 10 industry groups declined.
The loss left the gauge poised for a 1 percent weekly decline, its first such loss in three weeks after climbing to the highest close since June 2008 earlier in the week and capping a 2.1 percent gain for last month on Thursday. The MSCI All-Country World Index sank 1.5 percent on Thursday, the most since February.
“We’ve got a range of convenient reasons for investors to take some money off the table. The geopolitical risks have been rising and data flow in the US is suggesting that the [US] Fed[eral Reserve] may have to raise interest rates sooner rather than later. The Argentine issue is another piece of adverse news flow,” Angus Gluskie of White Funds Management said by telephone from Sydney.
In Taipei, the TAIEX retreated 0.53 percent, or 49.34 points, on Friday to close at 9,266.51 points, compared with 9,439.29 on July 25.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) fell 0.83 percent to NT$120, while HTC Corp (宏達電) rose 2.64 percent to NT$136.
Also on Friday, Japan’s TOPIX lost 0.6 percent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slumped 1.4 percent at the close — its biggest loss in more than four months — and New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index fell 1.1 percent, the most since May last year.
Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore’s Straits Times Index sank 0.9 percent, South Korea’s KOSPI fell 0.2 percent and India’s S&P BSE SENSEX decreased 1 percent.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index slipped 0.9 percent on Friday to cap its biggest monthly advance since September 2012 the previous day. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland shares traded in the territory dropped 1.3 percent after entering a bull market this week, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.7 percent.
On Friday, data from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics showed that the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index increased to 51.7 last month from 51 in June. A private gauge of factory activity from HSBC Holdings PLC and Markit Economics rose to 51.7 last month from 50.7 the previous month. Levels of 50 or higher signal expansion.
“The government needs to ensure that bubbles don’t occur in areas such as the property market and ensuring a smooth transition for the economy. At this point in time, I think authorities are managing it pretty well,” Pengana Capital Ltd portfolio manager Tim Schroeders, said by telephone.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index traded at 13.6 times estimated earnings on Thursday, compared with 16.2 for the S&P 500, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
In other markets on Friday:
Mumbai fell 1.6 percent, or 414.13 points, from Thursday to finish on 25,480.84.
Wellington closed 1.12 percent, or 58.06 points, down at 5,109.93.
Manila rose 0.43 percent, or 29.41 points, to end on 6,894.23.
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