Asia stocks fall as energy leads drop; Shanghai gauge tops 3,000
By Bloomberg
Asian stocks fell a second day as energy shares led declines as crude extended a five-year low. The Shanghai Composite Index topped 3,000 for the first time since 2011 as brokerages surged on bets the rally will continue.
Cnooc Ltd., China’s largest offshore oil explorer, lost 2.4 percent in Hong Kong. Prada SpA tumbled the most in three years in Hong Kong after the Italian fashion house reported a 44 percent drop in third-quarter profit. Citic Securities Co. jumped 10 percent in Shanghai.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.1 percent to 139.86 as of 4:03 p.m. in Hong Kong after rising as much as 0.2 percent on U.S. labor figures that beat estimates. Japan’s Topix index gained 0.1 percent as the yen held losses even after a report showed Japan’s recession was deeper than expected.
“The U.S. jobs data were good, but shares fell because some markets did pretty well recently,” said Takahiro Nakano, a Tokyo-based senior strategist at Mizuho Trust & Banking Co. “Japan’s GDP was shocking, showing smaller businesses probably suffered a lot more than big ones.”
Japanese equities rose today even as the economy shrank an annualized 1.9 percent in the third quarter, worse than the initial estimate of a 1.6 percent contraction. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected the decline to narrow to 0.5 percent. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is going to the polls on Dec. 14 after the initial reading pushed the nation into recession and he delayed a sales-tax increase.
U.S. Jobs
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slid 0.2 percent today after the underlying equity measure rose 0.2 percent on Dec. 5. to an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 percent, also advancing to a record, after data showed U.S. employers added 321,000 jobs in November, the most since January 2012.
The jump in payrolls beat the most optimistic projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists and followed a 243,000 gain in October that was stronger than previously reported. The jobless rate held at a six-year low of 5.8 percent.
West Texas Intermediate and Brent extended declines from the lowest close in more than five years amid speculation that U.S. oil producers will fight OPEC for market share.
South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.4 percent today. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.7 percent, while New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index added 0.1 percent. Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.5 percent. Markets in Philippines were shut due to a typhoon.
China Momentum
The Shanghai Composite surged 2.8 percent to the highest level since April 2011. The gauge’s world-beating 24 percent rally over the last month is spurring investors to open trading accounts at the fastest pace in three years and driving record turnover. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.2 percent as banking stocks and insurers climbed. A measure of mainland shares listed in the city jumped 2.4 percent.
Data today showed Chinese exports climbed 4.7 percent in November, trailing the estimate for an 8 percent gain. Imports fell 6.7 percent, compared with the forecast for a 3.8 percent advance. The trade surplus expanded to $54.47 billion.
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