Asian Stocks Fall as Middle East Concern Lingers; Honda, Bluescope Decline

Asian stocks fell, extending the regional benchmark’s decline last week, as concern persisted over political unrest in the Middle East. Honda Motor Co., a carmaker that receives 84 percent of its revenue abroad, lost 1.8 percent in Tokyo, and Sony Corp., Japan’s biggest electronics exporter, sank 0.9 percent as the yen strengthened. NEC Corp., Japan’s biggest maker of personal computers, slumped 3.4 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lowered its rating on the stock. BlueScope Steel Ltd., Australia’s biggest steelmaker, slid 1.9 percent in Sydney after saying that government carbon tax will hurt its competiveness.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.4 percent to 136.32 as of 10:20 a.m. in Tokyo, with eight stocks declining for every three that advanced. The gauge sank 2.1 percent last week as crude oil climbed above $100 a barrel for the first time in two years amid escalating violence in Libya, which has the largest oil reserves in Africa.

“In addition to concerns that the political unrest in the Middle East, especially in Libya, will continue, the yen will also likely play a role in holding back investors,” said Koichiro Nishio, a market analyst in Tokyo at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average slumped 0.5 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index decreased 0.3 percent. South Korea’s Kospi Index lost 0.9 percent.
Consumer Confidence

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 0.3 percent today. The gauge rose 1.1 percent on Feb. 25 in New York, preventing the biggest weekly drop in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index since August, as confidence among American consumers beat forecasts.

Confidence among U.S. consumers increased more than forecast in February to the highest level in three years as a drop in unemployment helped overcome concern over increasing food and fuel costs. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final sentiment index for the month advanced to 77.5 from 74.2 the prior month.

Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia’s second-largest oil and gas producer, rose 1.2 percent in Sydney as concern grew that political turmoil that has cut Libya’s output may spread to other parts of the Middle East. Rival Santos Ltd. climbed 1.9 percent.

Crude oil for April delivery climbed 0.6 percent to settle at $97.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Feb. 25, retreating from $103.41 earlier in the week, the highest since September 2008.