Asian Stocks Fall, Led by Exporters, Financials on U.S. Outlook

Asian stocks fell for a second day, led by Toyota Motor Corp. and Canon Inc., after the yen strengthened against the dollar and Wells Fargo & Co. said the U.S. housing market is the worst since the Great Depression.

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. and National Australia Bank Ltd. dropped on concern banks may report widening losses linked to U.S. home loans to borrowers with poor credit.

You just don't see an end to the subprime housing-loan problem, said Soichiro Monji, who helps oversee $47 billion at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. in Tokyo. Unless we see some light at the end of the tunnel, we can't expect the market to rise.

BHP Billiton Ltd. climbed after its mines in Chile resumed production following an earthquake and the Wall Street Journal said Rio Tinto Group was considering a counter bid for the company.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia Pacific Index fell 1.6 percent to 158.74 as of 11:04 a.m. in Tokyo. All 10 industry groups on the measure dropped, with a group of financial stocks as the biggest contributor to the decline.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 1.6 percent to 15,150.68, while the broader Topix index slumped 2 percent. Benchmarks in other markets open for trading fell, except in New Zealand.

In the U.S, the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.9 percent to 13,110.05. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 1.3 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 1 percent.

Exporters Decline

Toyota Motor, which gets about 70 percent of its profit from operations in North America, fell 1.8 percent to 6,110 yen. Canon, the world's biggest seller of digital cameras, declined 1.8 percent to 5,470 yen. Other stocks tumbled on concern the U.S. housing recession will crimp demand from Asia's biggest export market.

The yen strengthened to 110.49 to the dollar at 10:21 a.m. in Tokyo from 111.26 at the close of the Tokyo Stock Exchange yesterday. A stronger Japanese currency decreases the value of companies' overseas earnings when translated into yen.

Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea's largest exporter, retreated 1.1 percent to 564,000 won. James Hardie Industries NV, the biggest seller of home siding in the U.S., dropped 2.4 percent to A$6.22 in Sydney.

Mizuho Financial, the second-biggest publicly traded Japanese bank, declined 3.9 percent to 525,000 yen. Moody's Investors Service cut its financial strength outlook for the company to negative from stable because of losses related to U.S. subprime mortgages.

National Australia Bank, the country's largest lender, fell 3.3 percent to A$42.53. Kookmin Bank, South Korea's biggest, slid 2 percent to 69,600 won.

BHP, the world's largest mining company, gained 1.4 percent to A$41.73. Production at its mines in Chile, including Escondida, the world's largest copper source, have resumed production following a magnitude 7.7 quake earthquake on Nov. 14.

Its shares also rose after the Wall Street Journal said Rio Tinto, which is fighting a hostile takeover from BHP, is considering a counter-bid. Rio slipped A$0.02 to A$134.57.

Both companies declined to comment on the report.

Source - Bloomberg