Asian stocks fell this week, dragging the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index to its biggest weekly decline in three amid Japanese share sales, while companies including Sony Corp fueled profit concerns.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc sank 7.3 percent after announcing Japan’s biggest public sale of additional common shares. Hitachi Ltd, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average’s fourth-largest company by sales, plunged 14 percent after revealing its plan to sell securities. Sony Corp, which makes the PlayStation 3 game console and Bravia televisions, slid 5.5 percent as it pushed back profitability targets.
“What you’re seeing is very much Japan-related,” said Nader Naeimi, a Sydney-based strategist at AMP Capital Investors, which holds US$75 billion in assets. “Everywhere else in Asia you have a very strong growth profile, but Japan has a lot of long-term structural issues that still need to be tackled.”
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index fell 1.2 percent to 116.91 this week, the steepest weekly retreat since the five days to Oct. 30. Seven of the 10 heaviest drags on the gauge were Japanese shares, including Mitsubishi UFJ.
Japan’s TOPIX index slid 3.2 percent, extending its drop to a fourth week. The gauge has fallen 2.4 percent this year, making it the only loser among the world’s 10 biggest stock markets, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The KOSPI Index jumped 3.1 percent, breaking a five-week losing streak.
Taiwanese share prices are expected to stay in a narrow range in the upcoming week amid concerns over further Wall Street volatility, dealers said on Friday.
Large-cap electronic firms may remain weak as investors fear US high-tech stocks will suffer more declines on uncertainty over the industrial outlook, they said.
Sentiment has turned cautious ahead of the scheduled release of third-quarter economic data on Thursday, which will provide a clearer picture of the local climate, they added.
The market is expected to encounter heavy pressure as it moves closer to 7,800 points next week, while any downside pressure may be cushioned at around 7,600, dealers said.
For the week to Friday, the TAIEX rose 17.34 points, or 0.23 percent, to 7,682.97 after a 2.71 percent increase a week earlier.
Other markets on Friday:
SINGAPORE: Up 0.10 percent from Thursday. The Straits Times Index added 2.75 points to 2,761.54.
BANGKOK: Down 0.74 percent from Thursday. The Stock Exchange of Thailand fell 5.17 points to 695.25.
KUALA LUMPUR: Down 0.18 percent from Thursday. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index fell 2.29 points to 1,274.36.
JAKARTA: Up 0.75 percent from Thursday. The Jakarta Composite Index rose 18.57 points to 2,487.36.
MANILA: Down 0.47 percent from Thursday. The index lost 14.57 points to 3,068.73.
MUMBAI: Up 1.41 percent from Thursday. The 30-share SENSEX rose 236.2 points to 17,021.85.
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