Asia Stocks Fall for First Time in Three Days on U.S. Concern

Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks declined for the first time in three days, led by materials companies and carmakers, after a drop in U.S. consumer confidence to a 10-month low spurred concern that the economic recovery will slow.

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, fell 1.8 percent in Sydney on speculation a slowdown will dent demand for metals. Canon Inc., a camera maker that gets 79 percent of sales outside Japan, sank 3.4 percent, leading Japanese exporters lower after the dollar weakened against the yen. Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s biggest carmaker, declined 3 percent after AutoWeek magazine said the company halted U.S. sales of some cars due to a door-lock problem.

“The U.S. consumer confidence report has again created nervousness about the fragility of the recovery and its sustainability,” said Nader Naeimi, an investment strategist in Sydney at AMP Capital Investors, which oversees about $90 billion globally. “Nevertheless, the fundamentals remain strong and we are still seeing good earnings coming through.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1.3 percent to 117.48 as of 10:28 a.m. in Tokyo, snapping a 3.2 percent gain in the past two days. Eight times as many stocks declined as rose. The gauge has lost 7.3 percent from a 17-month high on Jan. 15 on concern governments will start withdrawing stimulus measures, and that Greece, Spain and Portugal will struggle to curb deficits.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 2 percent to 10,146.17. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 1 percent in Sydney. South Korea’s Kospi Index slipped 1.1 percent.

Confidence, Commodities Decline

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.1 percent. The measure retreated 1.2 percent in New York yesterday after the Conference Board’s confidence index for February decreased to the lowest level since April 2009, a report from the New York-based private research group showed.

In addition, the Ifo institute in Munich said its survey of German business confidence unexpectedly fell for the first time in 11 months in February as the coldest winter in 14 years damped retail sales and construction.

Material producers sank the most among the MSCI Asia Pacific Index’s 10 industry groups. BHP fell 2.2 percent to A$41.17 and was the biggest drag on the gauge. Rio Tinto Group, the world’s No. 3 mining company, lost 2.3 percent to A$70.59. Mitsubishi Corp., a trading company that gets about 40 percent of sales from commodities, declined 2 percent to 2,218 yen in Tokyo.

Crude oil for April delivery lost 1.8 percent in New York yesterday, the steepest decline in two weeks. The London Metal Exchange Index of six metals including copper and zinc dropped for a second day yesterday, slipping 2.3 percent.

Dollar Weakens

Japanese exporters declined as the dollar weakened to as low as 89.92 yen in Tokyo from 91.08 at the 3 p.m. close of stock trading yesterday. Japanese companies consider an average level of 92.90 as the dividing line between losses and profits, the Cabinet Office said on Feb. 19.

Canon, the world’s largest camera maker, dropped 3.1 percent to 3,705 yen. Sony Corp., an electronics maker that receives 23 percent of sales from the U.S., declined 2.8 percent to 3,100 yen. Nissan Motor Co., a carmaker that gets 35 percent of revenue in North America, slid 2.7 percent to 725 yen. Honda Motor Co., which gets about 44 percent of sales in North America, lost 1.9 percent. Hyundai Motor fell 3 percent to 113,500 won.