Asian Stocks Drop, Ending 5-Day Advance, on Recession Concern

March 30 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks declined for the first time in six days, paring the regional benchmark index’s best month since 1999, after commodities prices fell and on speculation a recovery for banks will be delayed.

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s No. 1 mining company, dropped 3.1 percent in Sydney after oil and copper prices fell. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., Japan’s third-biggest shipping line, lost 7.1 percent after freight charges declined for a 13th consecutive day. Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Japan’s second- largest listed bank, lost 6 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. told investors to sell the shares and JPMorgan Chase & Co. said March was “tougher” than the previous two months.

“We’re seeing the brakes being put on the rally,” said Naoteru Teraoka, who helps oversee $21 billion at Tokyo-based Chuo Mitsui Asset Management Co. “Everyone knows the economic fundamentals are horrid, so the challenge becomes predicting when we’ll see a recovery.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 2 percent to 83.81 as of 11:39 a.m. in Tokyo, following a five-day, 7.5 percent jump that took valuations to the highest since December 2007. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 1.8 percent to 8,475.06. Benchmark indexes throughout the region dropped.

MSCI’s Asian benchmark gauge has climbed 11 percent in March, as governments from the U.S. to Japan widened measures to ease the global financial crisis and revive economic growth. The monthly gain was the most since October 1999.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 1.1 percent. The gauge slumped 2 percent on March 27. Investors should sell U.S. stocks because earnings are likely to keep weakening, according to a Morgan Stanley report. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 21 percent in the past 14 trading days, the most since 1938, according to data compiled by New York- based S&P analyst Howard Silverblatt.

Oil, Metals Fall

BHP tumbled 3.1 percent to A$32.96. Sims Metal Management Ltd., the world’s biggest recycler of scrap metal, lost 7.6 percent to A$17.51 after Goldman Sachs recommended investors sell the shares. Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp. declined 3.5 percent to 887 yen.

Crude oil for May delivery slumped 3.6 percent to $52.38 a barrel in New York on March 27, and slid as much as 2.4 percent today. A measure of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange, including copper and zinc, lost 1 percent.

Kawasaki Kisen plunged 7.1 percent to 315 yen. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., Japan’s second-biggest bulk shipper, lost 6.5 percent to 500 yen. The Baltic Dry Index lost 2.1 percent on March 27, the 13th straight decline for the benchmark measure of shipping costs for commodities.

Bank Shares Decline

Mizuho retreated 6 percent to 203 yen after Goldman Sachs lowered the stock to “sell” from “neutral.” The bank is among the most expensive in Japan based on book value and its high level of stock investments make it especially risky, analyst Toyoki Sameshima wrote in a report.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan’s biggest lender by value, lost 4.9 percent to 501 yen. National Australia Bank Ltd., Australia’s largest by assets, declined 1.4 percent to A$20.79.

JPMorgan’s Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said in an interview with CNBC that March was a “little tougher” than January and February for the bank. Kenneth Lewis, Bank of America’s CEO, said the lender’s trading book wasn’t as good as in the first two months. The two said earlier this month that their banks were profitable through February, excluding taxes and provisions, contributing to advances in financial shares.

“Doubt has arisen among investors whether U.S. banks can really turn around,” Tomochika Kitaoka, a strategist at Mizuho Securities Co., said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.