Shares extended declines after Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKY) slipped below the key level of 10,000 for the first time in two weeks, triggering a deeper selloff. BHP Billiton Ltd., Australia’s biggest oil producer, sank 1.9 percent in Sydney after crude prices fell. Fast Retailing Co. (9983), Japan’s biggest clothier, plunged 4.5 percent after sales at its Uniqlo stores disappointed investors. SK Telecom Co. slid 3.5 percent in Seoul after Posco sold shares in the mobile-phone carrier.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1 percent to 126.03 as of 11:26 a.m. in Tokyo, with about three stocks falling for each that rose. Asia’s benchmark equity gauge has risen 11 percent this year amid signs the U.S. economy is recovering. Gains slowed after China last month cut its target for economic growth as it seeks to cool the property market and become less dependent on exports.
“The market had a pretty good run and could be consolidating,” said Matt Riordan, a portfolio manager who helps oversee about $6.9 billion in Sydney at Paradice Investment Management Pty. “I don’t think it was widely expected there would be additional easing coming.”
Nikkei 225
The Nikkei 225 lost 1.3 percent today, extending losses after the measure dipped below its 25-day moving average, falling below 10,000 for the first time since March 23.
A gauge of volatility on the Nikkei 225 rose 3.7 percent to 19.61, indicating traders expect a swing of 5.6 percent on the gauge over the next 30 days.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.4 percent. South Korea’s Kospi Index lost 0.8 percent, with a measure of volatility on the gauge’s core stocks adding 0.2 percent.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPXL1) slid 0.3 percent today. The index fell 0.4 percent in New York yesterday after the Federal Reserve said it’s holding off on increasing monetary accommodation and U.S. factory orders missed estimates.
Trading volume was below the 30-day average in markets from Japan to Australia amid public holidays in China, Hong Kong and before a U.S. jobs report this week. Payrolls in the U.S. probably increased by more than 200,000 workers in March for a fourth consecutive month as companies became more optimistic about the outlook for growth, economists predict a report will show on April 6 in Washington.
Commodities, Metals
Resource companies fell the most among the 10 industry groups on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index after the Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index (CRY) of raw materials fell 0.5 percent yesterday. Oil for May delivery yesterday declined 1.2 percent to $104.01, the lowest close since March 30.
BHP slid 1.9 percent to A$34.53. Rio Tinto Group (RIO), Australia’s second-largest mining company by market value, declined 0.9 percent to A$66.21.
Fast Retailing plunged 4.4 percent to 18,050 yen in Tokyo after Credit Suisse Group AG said sales at the retailer’s Uniqlo stores in Japan failed to recover following last year’s March 11 earthquake. The clothier yesterday said domestic same-store sales at the chain increased 5.1 percent last month from a year earlier.
Stocks in the Asian benchmark are valued at 1.4 times book value, compared with 2.3 times for the S&P 500 and 1.5 times for the Stoxx 600, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A number below 1 means companies can be bought for less than value of their assets.
SK Telecom slid 3.5 percent to 137,500 won after Posco, South Korea’s biggest steelmaker, sold 2.3 million of the phone company’s shares. Posco, which also sold stakes in KB Financial Group Inc. and Hana Financial Group Inc. to improve its finances, declined 2.1 percent to 372,500 won.
South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.9 percent to 2,030.90 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3 percent to 4,324.60.
Markets in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan were closed for public holidays.
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