Jan 12, 2015/Bloomberg
Asian stocks fell as oil at a 5 1/2 year low weighed on energy companies and a stronger yen and declines in U.S. equities dragged down Japanese shares as the market opened after a holiday.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) slipped 0.4 percent to 137.32 as of 9:01 a.m. in Tokyo, before markets opened in Hong Kong and China. The yen rose 0.1 percent to 118.26 per dollar, after climbing 0.1 percent yesterday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index sank 0.8 percent yesterday after sliding 0.8 percent on Dec. 9.
The decline in crude gathered pace as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Societe Generale SA cut price forecasts for the commodity, amid projections a global glut will continue. China trade data today will probably show exports grew 6 percent last month, while imports dropped 6.2 percent, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
“Another plunge in oil prices is likely to further pressure shares,” said Michael McCarthy, Sydney-based chief market strategist at CMC Markets. We expect “support for safe-haven assets. Analysts are expecting a lift in China exports and a fall in imports, a growth-friendly result that may shift market focus.”
Recent Chinese data have been weak, with a report last week showing producer prices in December falling more than forecast. An official manufacturing gauge slid to the lowest level in 18 months last month, while industrial profits slumped by the most in two years in November. Copper traded at a five-year low on prospects consumption of the metal will slow in Asia’s largest economy.
Japan Drops
Japan’s Topix index sank 1.5 percent. The nation’s current-account surplus was 433 billion yen in November, finance ministry data showed, wider than economists’ expectations for 139.5 billion yen.
South Korea’s Kospi index retreated 0.4 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index (AS51) fell 0.7 percent, led by energy and materials firms. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index added 0.1 percent.
West Texas Intermediate decreased 4.7 percent to $46.07 a barrel yesterday. Crude has to “stay lower for longer” if investment in shale is to be curtailed to re-balance the global market, according to Goldman analysts.
