Asian Stocks Fluctuate; China Developers Fall, Miners Advance

Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fluctuated, as Chinese developers fell on speculation China’s government will take more steps to curb property speculation. Mining stocks rose as JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded BHP Billiton Ltd.

China Vanke Co., the nation’s biggest listed developers, slid 2.5 percent after the Xinhua News Agency said the government will target “excessive” property prices in some cities. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., Japan’s No. 2 shipping line, fell 1.3 percent after cargo rates dropped. BHP, the world’s largest mining company, climbed 0.9 percent as copper advanced.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.1 percent to 120.26 as of 12:06 p.m. in Tokyo. It swung between gains and losses at least six times. The gauge has climbed 34 percent this year, set for its biggest annual gain since 2003, on signs government spending packages and lower interest rates are reviving the global economy.

“Asia does not offer much value in a valuation perspective, which is why we’re a bit cautious going into the new year,” said Christopher Wong, a fund manager at Aberdeen Asset Management Ltd. in Singapore, which oversees about $25 billion of Asian assets, told Bloomberg Television today. “We haven’t taken money off the table. We just need to wait for fundamentals to catch up.”

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.2 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.9 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index sank 0.4 percent in China. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.4 percent. Platinum Australia Ltd. surged 4.6 percent after prices of the metal climbed.

Dubai Support

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed. The gauge rose 0.7 percent to the highest since October 2008, as Abu Dhabi agreed to provide financing to Dubai’s financial support fund, allowing Dubai World to repay $4.1 billion of Islamic bonds that were due yesterday.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has climbed 71 percent from a more than five-year low on March 9, outpacing gains of 65 percent by the S&P 500 and 56 percent for Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index. Stocks in the benchmark are valued at 22 times estimated earnings, compared with 18 times for the S&P and 16 times for the Stoxx.

BHP Billiton rose 0.9 percent to A$41.02. Rio Tinto added 0.5 percent to A$70.83. JPMorgan boosted their ratings after the broker increased its iron ore, coal and metal price forecasts. BHP was raised to “neutral” from “underweight” and Rio to “overweight” from “neutral,” JPMorgan analysts said yesterday in a report.

Metals Demand

Earnings per share next year at Rio, the second-biggest producer of iron ore, may be 30 percent higher than forecast because of higher metal prices, the JPMorgan report said. The earnings per share forecast for BHP this fiscal year was increased by 16 percent for next year.

Raw-material producers are the best performing of the MSCI Asia Pacific Index’s 10 industry groups this year on optimism global growth will fuel metals demand. Copper prices have more than doubled this year. Active futures on the metal rose 0.3 percent in New York after-hours trading, taking a three-day advance to 1.9 percent.

Platinum Australia, which owns mines in the country and South Africa, climbed 5.7 percent to 93 Australian cents after the metal rose the most in almost two weeks in New York yesterday. Aquarius Platinum Ltd., the world’s fourth-biggest producer of the metal, surged 5.4 percent to A$6.69.

China Vanke slid 2.5 percent to 11.50 yuan after Xinhua reported the Chinese government plans to “speed the construction of low-cost housing” and strengthen supervision of the real- estate market.

Policy Risk

Poly Real Estate Group Co. lost 3.2 percent to 23.80 yuan. China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd., a developer controlled by China’s construction ministry, sank 2.8 percent to HK$17.82 in Hong Kong.

“Government policy is a big risk to property stocks,” said Zhang Qi, an analyst at Haitong Securities Co. in Shanghai.

China’s property prices climbed last month at the fastest pace since July 2008, adding to concern that record lending may fuel unsustainable asset-price increases. The State Council said last week the government will re-impose a sales tax on homes sold within five years, after cutting the period to two years in January.

Asset bubbles are the No. 1 threat to financial stability in Asia, posing a bigger danger than inflation, Norman Chan, the head of Hong Kong’s de facto central bank said yesterday.

In Tokyo, Mitsui O.S.K. lost 1.3 percent to 459 yen, while in Seoul, STX Pan Ocean Co., South Korea’s biggest bulk carrier, fell 1.7 percent to 11,900 won.

Shipping stocks fell after the Baltic Dry Index, a measure of shipping costs for commodities, posted a sixth straight drop as the market for hiring capesize vessels for transporting iron ore and coal weakened. The index slid 1.4 percent yesterday to a five-week low.

“There’s just a general feeling that we are winding down for New Year and the bulk of the buying has been done this year,” said Chris Weston, an institutional dealer at IG Markets in Melbourne. “We’re just lacking the catalyst to really attract buyers at present. Traders are more happy to trade individual news stories.”