Most Asian Stocks Fall on Economic Growth Concern; Kirin Surges

July 13 (Bloomberg) -- Most Asian stocks fell, led by technology and mining companies, after an index of U.S. consumer sentiment sank more than economists expected and commodity prices declined. Consumer-related shares advanced.

Samsung Electronics Co., Asia’s biggest maker of computer- memory chips and flat screens, lost 1.2 percent in Seoul. Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third-largest mining company, dropped 1.7 percent after oil and metals prices declined on July 10. Kirin Holdings Co., Japan’s biggest beverage maker, surged 9.8 percent after the Nikkei newspaper said the company may merge with Suntory Holdings Ltd.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.1 percent to 100.58 as of 9:45 a.m. in Tokyo, with three stocks declining for every two that advanced. The gauge lost 4.2 percent in the two weeks through July 10.

“Uncertainty reigns over the market and people are gradually switching to the view that the economic recovery will be harder than expected,” said Tsutomu Yamada, a market analyst at Kabu.com Securities Co.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.4 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi Index sank 0.8 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index and New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index were little changed.

Futures on the U.S. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.3 percent. The measure dropped 0.4 percent on July 10 after the Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment slid to 64.6 in July from the prior month. Economists had estimated the gauge would fall to 70.

“It’s going to be a while before we’re confident we’re going to have a strong, sustainable recovery in place,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said, according to a transcript of an interview with “CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS” show.