Asian Stocks Decline After Japan’s Capital Spending Falls
Asian stocks declined after Japan’s government reported an unexpected drop in corporate investment and the steepest slide in wages in three years.
Mitsubishi Estate Co. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc., companies that rely on demand in the region’s biggest economy, paced losses.
“Evidence of a recovery in Japan’s domestic demand is lacking and we’re going to see more negative data,” said Hiroshi Chano, who helps manage $7.3 billion at Yasuda Asset Management Co. in Tokyo.
South Korea’s Kookmin Bank climbed after the central bank said the country’s economy expanded in the second quarter at the fastest pace in almost four years.
The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index dropped 0.2 percent to 151.87 as of 11:23 a.m. in Tokyo. The benchmark added 2.6 percent last week ahead of an announcement by U.S. President George W. Bush of measures to help subprime- mortgage borrowers.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 0.7 percent to 16,458.05. Benchmarks also fell in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. South Korea was little changed.
U.S. stocks rose on Aug. 31, helping the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index erase most of its loss for the week. Bush said the government will help people with delinquent mortgages keep their homes, while Federal Reserve Chairman Ben. S. Bernanke said the central bank will do what’s needed to prevent last month’s credit market rout from undoing a six-year economic expansion.
