Asian Stocks Fluctuate as Japanese Exporters Fall, Commodity Shares Climb

Asian stocks fluctuated as the dollar weakened to a seven-week low against the yen, damping the outlook for Japanese export earnings. Commodity companies rose.

Toyota Motor Corp., a Japanese carmaker that counts North America as its biggest overseas market, declined 0.6 percent in Tokyo. Nintendo Co., a Japanese maker of video-game machines, dropped 1.3 percent. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, increased 0.7 percent in Sydney. Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia’s largest gold producer, climbed 0.6 percent.

“The yen’s appreciation will hang over the market” in Japan, said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees about $450 million in Tokyo at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. “I don’t think people are rushing to sell stocks to lock in profits, because there are strong expectations that stocks will rise next year.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.3 percent to 137.25 as of 9:44 a.m. in Tokyo, with more than three times as many stocks declining as advancing. The gauge has climbed 14 percent this year, and closed yesterday at its highest level since June 2008, on speculation that growth in corporate profits will weather Europe’s debt crisis, Chinese steps to curb inflation and concern about the pace of the U.S. economic rebound.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.5 percent, South Korea’s Kospi Index gained 0.2 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index increased 0.5 percent.

Futures on the U.S. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 0.1 percent. The index gained 0.1 percent yesterday, led by energy companies as crude oil remained above $90 a barrel for a fifth straight day.

Toyota, Honda, Nintendo

Toyota, Honda Motor Co. and Nintendo were among the heaviest drags on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, and the largest contributors to the decline in Japan’s broad Topix index.

Toyota, the world’s biggest carmaker, dropped 0.6 percent to 3,230 yen. Honda, an automaker that receives 43 percent of its revenue from North America, slid 0.8 percent to 3,230 yen. Nintendo, the world’s largest maker of video-game players, lost 1.3 percent to 24,110 yen.

The dollar weakened against the yen for an eighth straight session yesterday, the longest streak since 2004. It depreciated to 81.40 yen today, the lowest intraday level since Nov. 9. A weaker dollar reduces the value of U.S. income at Japanese companies when converted into their home currency.

The yen is headed for its strongest annual average level against the dollar since currencies began trading freely in 1971, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and based on each day’s closing price.