China Markets in Contraction: Birth Pangs to an RV?

Asian Stocks Fall Amid Earnings, China Slowdown Concerns


By Jonathan Burgos - Apr 22, 2012 8:03 PM PT


Asian stocks fell after companies from Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. and Tokyo Steel (5423)Manufacturing Co. posted weaker earnings and a manufacturing survey signaled China’s economic slowdown is deepening.

Daewoo Engineering dropped 4.3 percent in Seoul after the construction company posted a 38 percent drop in first-quarter operating profit. Tokyo Steel slumped 7.3 percent as the steelmaker’s full-year loss widened on increased production costs. China Mobile Ltd., the world’s biggest carrier by subscribers, fell 1.8 percent in Hong Kong after posting first-quarter net income that missed analysts’ estimates.

Asian Stocks Decline as Earnings Overshadow Europe Optimism




Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

Canon Inc. added 0.9 percent.

Canon Inc. added 0.9 percent. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg




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April 23 (Bloomberg) -- Binay Chandgothia, a Hong Kong-based portfolio manager at Principal Global Investors, talks about the implications of France's presidential election for markets, global stocks and his investment strategy. Chandgothia also discusses Federal Reserve monetary policy. He speaks with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television's "First Up." (Source: Bloomberg)

“Investors are taking a wait-and-see attitude as some earnings disappoint,” said Ng Soo Nam, Singapore-based chief investment officer at Nikko Asset Management Asia Ltd., which oversees about $165 billion. “Even if more earnings were to come in at below expectations, we are still staring at very cheap equity valuations. There’s still scope for the market to move up.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) dropped 0.2 percent to 123.93 as of 11:57 a.m. in Tokyo, erasing gains of as much as 0.3 percent. The gauge posted its fourth weekly retreat this year last week as the Group of 20 nations warned Europe’s debt crisis still threatens global growth and as reports showed economic expansion is slowing in the U.S. and China.

China Manufacturing


Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 0.3 percent, erasing gains of as much as 0.9 percent. South Korea’s Kospi Index and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index both slipped 0.2 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index decreased 0.5 percent.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.1 percent as a survey showed the nation’s manufacturing may contract for a sixth month in April. The 49.1 preliminary reading of thePurchasing Managers’ Index from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics today compares with a final reading of 48.3 in March. A number below 50 points to a contraction.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Burgos in Singapore at jburgos4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: John McCluskey at j.mccluskey@bloomberg.net