Asian stocks fell, after China said it may curb production in the steel and cement industries and Esprit Holdings Ltd. reported lower profit.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo plummeted 165.74 points, or 1.6%, to close at 10,473.47.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index lost 213.57 points, or 1%, to 20,242.75.
Rio Tinto Group, which made 19% of its sales last year in China, sank 3% in Sydney. Mitsubishi Corp., a Japanese trading company that gets more than a third of its revenue from commodities, lost 2.1%.
Esprit, the biggest publicly traded clothier in Hong Kong, slumped 15%. The yen rose as speculation output cuts in China will stifle growth sparked demand for safe-haven currencies.
The company said it may take until next year to return to profit growth after reporting its first earnings drop in more than a decade.
OZ Minerals Ltd. slumped 6.1% in Sydney after reporting a first-half loss, while chemical maker Tokuyama Corp. slumped 8% in Tokyo on share-sale plans. Nippon Sheet Glass Co. declined 7.2% after its chief executive officer resigned.
BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, lost 1.3%. Mitsubishi dropped 2.1% in Tokyo. Mitsui & Co., which counts commodities as its biggest source of profit, declined 2.8%.
Nippon Sheet dropped 7.2%. Morgan Stanley cut its rating on the stock to "equal-weight" from "overweight," saying the unexpected resignation of CEO Stuart Chambers will lead to uncertainty.
In Sydney, James Hardie Industries NV, the biggest seller of home siding in the U.S., rose 2.5%. Sales of new homes in the U.S. jumped 9.6% in July, the most in four years, a government report showed.
CHINA
Shanghai’s 300 Composite Index subsided 16.08 points, or 0.5%, to 3,156.30, as China Vanke Co., the nation’s biggest publicly traded property developer, sank 2.3% in Shenzhen.
The Chinese government said yesterday it’s studying curbs on overcapacity in industries including steel and cement. It will also increase "guidance" over parts of the coal, glass and power industries, the State Council said on its Web site. Controls on stock and bond sales by companies in targeted sectors will be strengthened, it said.
China’s banking regulators are "tweaking" lending policies to remove "froth" from the system while growth remains the top priority for policymakers, according to Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.
Elsewhere:
Singapore’s Straits Times Index tacked on 13.80 points, or 0.5%, to 2,642.23
South Korea’s Kospi index backtracked 14.79 points, or 0.9%, to 1,599.33
Taiwan’s Taiex moved lower by 28.46 points, or 0.4%, to 6,690.75
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index subtracted 14.48 points, or 0.5%, to 3,076.42
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gave back 3.70 points, to 4,450.80.
