Asian Stocks Outside Japan Gain; Nikkei 225 Falls on Yen – Businessweek

Asian stocks outside Japan climbed
as Samsung Electronics Co. rebounded from a one-month low. The
Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped for a second day as the yen
gained after the Bank of Japan (8301) said it will wait until next year
to start open-ended asset purchases in pursuit of a 2 percent
inflation target.

Samsung Electronics, the first South Korean company to be
worth more than $200 billion, rose 1.8 percent, erasing
yesterday’s decline when it fell to its lowest since Dec. 21.
China Merchants Holdings International Co., a container port
operator, jumped 8.8 percent after a report that the government
of Shenzhen is reviewing the use of land the company co-owns.
Honda Motor Co., a Japanese carmaker that gets about 81 percent
of sales overseas, dropped 2.3 percent as a stronger yen weighed
on the outlook for export earnings.

The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index rose 0.4
percent to 480.45 as of 7:12 p.m. in Tokyo, with about the same
number of shares rising and falling. The yen reversed early
losses against the U.S. dollar to gain 0.8 percent. The regional
equity gauge is priced in U.S. dollars, so gains by the yen
inflate the value of Japanese companies in the index.

“There are still a lot of skeptics,” said Stephen Corry,
a Hong Kong-based chief investment strategist at LGT Group, a
private banking and asset management group that manages about
$102 billion. “The big question now is will the combined fiscal
and monetary stimulus work? The yen does look oversold and the
Nikkei looks overbought.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index, which includes Japan, is
poised to gain for a third month amid signs the U.S. and Chinese
economies are recovering and as Japanese shares rallied on Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe’s more aggressive stimulus policies. The
index, which is priced in dollars, gained 0.5 percent today as
the rising yen offset declines in Japanese shares.

Speculative Buying

The Asia-Pacific benchmark measure traded at 14.3 times
average estimated earnings compared with 13.4 for the Standard &
Poor’s 500 Index and 12.1 times for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index,
according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 0.4 percent after
jumping as much as 1 percent immediately after the BOJ
announcement. The Topix Index, Japan’s broadest equity measure,
dropped 0.4 percent on volume that was 25 percent higher than
the 30-day average.

“The market got speculative buying when investors jumped
on headlines without looking to the content of the
announcement,” said Soichiro Monji, chief strategist at Tokyo-
based Daiwa SB Investments Ltd., which manages the equivalent of
about 6 trillion yen ($67 billion). “As they regained calmness,
they realized there’s not much new.”

Korea, Taiwan

All 23 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast that
the central bank would expand asset purchases today, with a
median estimate for a 10 trillion-yen increase. Twenty one
economists predicted that the bank would set a 2 percent
inflation target.

South Korea’s Kospi Index rose 0.5 percent, while
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index (AS51) was little changed. Taiwan’s Taiex
Index gained 0.4 percent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.3 percent, and China’s
Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.6 percent. Singapore’s
Straits Times Index retreated 0.1 percent.

Thai Beverage Pcl rose 3.4 percent to 45.5 Singapore cents.
Overseas Union Enterprise Ltd. said yesterday it won’t match
Thai billionaire Charoen’s S$13.8 billion ($11.2 billion) offer
for Fraser & Neave Ltd., ending the bidding war for the
Singapore-based company. Charoen’s TCC Assets said today it now
owns 42.5 percent of F&N. (FNN) Overseas Union gained 4.4 percent to
S$2.86, while F&N declined 2 percent to S$9.55.

Kirin, F&N

Kirin Holdings Co. (2503), a Japanese drinks maker, rose 3.2
percent to 1,081 yen in Tokyo. The company said no decision has
been made in response to a report it may sell its stake in F&N.

Samsung gained 1.8 percent to 1.48 million won in Seoul.

China Merchants surged 8.8 percent to HK$28.40 in Hong
Kong. The Hong Kong Economic Times reported the land it co-owns
with China International Marine Containers (Group) Co. (2039) and
Shenzhen International Holdings Ltd. is subject to land-use
discussions with the city’s government. The Qianhai development
area is on the boundary between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

Shenzhen International surged 21 percent to HK$1.09, the
highest since December 2007. China International, which
converted Shenzhen-listed B shares into Hong Kong H shares in
December, jumped 18 percent to HK$16.46.

China Vanke Co., the country’s biggest publicly traded
property developer, surged 10 percent for a second day to
HK$15.13 in Shenzhen, on plans to move trading of its foreign-
currency denominated shares to Hong Kong.

Exporters Slide

Japanese exporters dropped as the yen headed for a second
day of advance. A stronger yen reduces the value of overseas
earnings of the nation’s carmakers and electronics manufacturers
when repatriated.

Honda slipped 2.3 percent to 3,340 yen. Canon Inc. (7751), the
world’s biggest camera maker, declined 1.7 percent to 3,275 yen.
Nintendo Co., the maker of Wii game consoles, lost 1.5 percent
to 9,070 yen.

Among other companies that fell, Korea Gas Corp. (036460), a
liquefied-natural-gas distributor, dropped 6.8 percent to 72,200
won in Seoul, the biggest drop on the Asia-Pacific Index. The
company decided not to sell 5.4 trillion won ($5.07 billion) of
asset-backed securities, according to Korea Accounting Standards
Board guidelines, Korea Economic Daily reported. The company
last month said it was proceeding with the sale this year.

Sunac China Holdings Ltd., a property developer, fell 7.5
percent to HK$6.65 in Hong Kong on a share-sale plan.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Kana Nishizawa in Hong Kong at
knishizawa5@bloomberg.net;
Adam Haigh in Sydney at
ahaigh1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Nick Gentle at
ngentle2@bloomberg.net