Asian Stocks Fall for Fifth Day; Japan's Nippon Steel Drops

Asian stocks fell for a fifth day, as crude oil's retreat from a record sent oil companies lower and Japanese steelmakers dropped after the country's capital spending slumped for a third straight quarter.

Santos Ltd., Australia's No. 3 oil and gas explorer, led energy shares lower. Nippon Steel Corp., the world's second- biggest steelmaker, dropped in Tokyo on concern the government will have to lower Japan's economic growth estimate.

The market is fresh out of any catalysts to spur buying, Hiroichi Nishi, an equities manager at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc., said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.3 percent to 141.82 as of 10:26 a.m. in Tokyo, extending a four-day, 4.9 percent decline. The benchmark has declined 10 percent this year on concern widening credit-market losses and a U.S. slowdown will weigh on global economic growth.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.2 percent, after earlier gaining as much as 0.4 percent. Benchmarks advanced in Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan.

U.S. stocks fell yesterday, led by financial and commodity shares, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke urged banks to forgive more late loans and oil, gold, and copper prices dropped from records. Shares pared declines in the last hour of trading after CNBC said a deal to bail out bond insurer Ambac Financial Group Inc. is progressing.

South Korea's LG Electronics Inc., Asia's second-largest mobile-phone maker, advanced after BNP Paribas SA increased its earnings forecast. Millea Holdings Inc. gained after Morgan Stanley raised its recommendation on the stock.