Asian markets fall on U.S. economic worries

(RTTNews) - The stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region were trading lower on Monday on lingering concerns about the health of the U.S. economy. The Wall Street fell Friday after a report showed that U.S. employers cut jobs for the seventh straight month in July and a rise in crude oil prices. In the Asian session Monday, oil has climbed above $126 a barrel after closing up $1.02 at $1265.10 a barrel on Friday in the U.S.

In the U.S., the Dow industrials fell 0.45% to 11,326.32, the broader S&P 500 index lost 0.56% to 1,260.31 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.63% to 2,310.96 on Friday.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar traded in the mid 107-yen levels in early Tokyo deals, flat with with Friday's late local quotes. The greenback opened higher at 1,016.5 South Korean won. The Australian dollar weaker at US$0.9286-0.9281 and the kiwi was higher in early local deals at US$0.7281.

The Japanese market was trading lower, extending Friday's losses. At 8:45 p.m. ET, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 70.52 points or 0.54% at 13,024.10. The broader Topix index of all the First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was losing 9.43 points to 1,263.50.

On the economic front, the Bank of Japan said that Japan's monetary base fell 0.7% to 87.85 trillion yen in July from a year earlier, marking the first fall in two months. Later in the day, Japan Machine Tool Builders Association release preliminary data on machine tool orders for the month of July.

Among exporters, Cannon fell 2.4%, Toyota Motor plunged 3.3%, Komatsu lost 2.6%, Sony declined 1.2% and Honda Motor tumbled 4.6%.

Banks were weak, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group losing 1.6%, Mizuho Financial Group falling 2.2% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group plummeting 3.8%.

Tech stocks were mixed in early trade. Advantest rose 0.7%, NEC gained 1.0% and Tokyo Electron edged up 0.2%, while Fanuc dropped 2.0%, Fujitsu gave away 2.3%, Kyocera slipped 0.3% and Matsushita Electrical Industrial declined 0.9%.

Shipping company Nippon Yusen tumbled 3.4%, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines plummeted 4.1% and Kawasaki Kisen slumped 7.3%.

Oil explorer Inpex Holdings rose 1.5%, but Nippon Oil lost 3.7% and Nippon Mining Holdings shed 1.3%.

Nissan Motor plunged 5.0% after the automaker reported Friday that its operating profit dropped 46% in the June quarter after a firm yen and higher procurement costs of basic materials hurt its profit margin.

The South Korean market was trading lower, led by shipbuilders. At 10:07 p.m. ET, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index or KOSPI was down 34.34 points or 2.18% at 1,539.43.

Among technology stocks, Hynix Semiconductors lost 2.9%, market heavyweight Samsung Electronics declined 0.9%, LG Display shed 2.5% and LG Electronics dropped 1.4%.

Automaker Hyundai Motor plunged 3.8% and steel major POSCO plummeted 4.0%. Leading lender KookMin Bank declined 0.7%, Shinhan Financial Group gave away 1.6% and Woori Finance slipped 0.4%. Brokerage Mirae Asset Securities tumbled 3.3%.

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering slumped 12.3% after the company said Friday that it cancelled a 619 billion won order to build eight container ships for an European company. Hyundai Mipo Dockyard plunged 7.3% after the company also said that it cancelled a 197 billion won order for four product carriers from an European firm.

Hyundai Heavy Industries sank 9.1% and Samsung Heavy Industries shed 8.6%.

Transporters fell after U.S. crude rose to settle above $125 a barrel on Friday. Korean Air Line fell 5.3% and Asiana Airlines lost 0.7%.

The Australian stock market was trading lower, extending Friday's 1.5% losses. Miners were down on lower metals prices. At 9:34 p.m. ET, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 5 points or 0.11% at 4,899 and the broader All Ordinaries index was losing 7 points or 0.15% to 4,971.

On the economic front, the Australian Industry Group publishes its Performance of Service sector index for July. The index reading for June stood at 45.4, with readings below 50.0 indicating contraction in the sector.

Also, the Australian Bureau of Statistics issues its House Price Index for the second quarter. The first-quarter data showed a 1.1% increase over the fourth quarter and a jump of 13.8% for the full year.

Further, Australia and NZ Bank releases its data on job advertisements for July. The report for June showed a 3% decline in published job opportunities.

Among banking stocks, Commonwealth Bank was up 1.04%, Westpac edged up 0.24%, and ANZ Bank gained 0.99%. National Australia Bank edged down 0.16%, while St. George bank rose 1.12%, and investment bank Macquarie Group added 2.22%.

In the resources sector, index leader BHP Billiton fell 2.17% and Rio Tinto lost 2.10%. Gold miners were mixed, as gold fell on Friday. Newcrest Mining was down 3.25%, while Lihir Gold edged up 0.76%.

Among energy stocks, Woodside was up 2.31%, Oil Search added 1.80%, and Santos rose 2.92%on higher oil prices.

In the retail sector, David Jones was up 1.2%, Coles owner Wesfarmer added 1.45%, and Woolworths edged up 0.85%.

Property developer Lend Lease Corp Ltd fell 10% after a profit warning. The company said that it expects full-year statutory profit to fall 47% this year.

Takeover target Just Group climbed 10.2% after it said it will recommend to its shareholders to accept the hostile offer from Premier Investments, in the event Premier receives acceptances instructions of more than 50% of the ordinary shares and it declares its offer unconditional.

The New Zealand stock market was trading higher on Monday despite Friday's negative lead from Wall Street as well as higher oil prices. At 8.15 P.M. ET, the benchmark NZX 50 Index was adding 19.06 points or 0.58% to 3,322.22, while the NZX All Capital Index was gaining 21.27 points or 0.64% to 3,363.95.

On the economic front, Statistics New Zealand said that the number of New Zealanders in full-time employment and the amount they earned both increased for the year ending in June 2008. Employment, as measured by full-time equivalent workers, increased 2.5% for the 12 months through the June 2008 quarter, but slowed from the 3.5% annualized rate at the end of the March 2008 quarter. Meanwhile, earnings rose by the highest amount on record. The Labor Cost Index from Statistics NZ showed an increase of 3.5% in overall salary and wage rates for the year through June.

Among the top stocks, Telecom advanced 0.82%, while Contact Energy eased 0.59% and Fletcher Building lost 2.56%.

In the retail space, Pumpkin Patch rose 3.45%, Hallenstein Glasson climbed 1.06% and The Warehouse Group added 0.29%, while Michael Hill declined 1.25%.

Among other stocks, Sky City lost 1.74%, while Fisher & Paykel Appliances gained 2.56%, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rose 3.57% and Methven gained 3.23%. Nuplex and Steel & Tube remained unchanged.

Energy scrip TrustPower eased 0.13%, while Vector gained 2.22%. Dual-listed AMP declined 1.28%, ANZ Banking eased 0.24% and Westpac remained unchanged.

Other Asian markets:

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 0.94% at 22,646; China's Shanghai composite index was down 0.55% at 2,786; Singapore's Straits Times index was down 1.05% at 2,875; Taiwan's weighted index was down 0.40% at 6,532; Malaysia's KLCI was down 7.01 points at 1,152; and Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index was down 0.94% at 2,227.

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