Asian stocks declined Wednesday as worries that Beijing may act soon to check inflation and a steep recent fall in several commodities made investors less willing to take on risk.
Markets in Japan had the day off.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dumped 318.01 points, or 1.4%, to 23,315.20
One expert said that in addition to fears that Beijing may control the money supply and lift interest rates, concern about the approaching end to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s $600-billion U.S. asset-purchase program in June was also weighing on commodities.
Over the past few months, the Fed’s asset-purchase program has been cited as a reason for easy global liquidity conditions and as a force behind a sharp rally in commodities.
Woodside Petroleum Ltd. sank 2.5% and Rio Tinto Ltd. shed 1.5% in Sydney.
The weak sentiment toward commodities also prevailed after The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter, as saying that several big hedge-fund managers, including George Soros, and other leading investment firms have been selling gold and silver.
In Sydney, Westpac Banking Corp.’s first-half results failed to offer the market any support.
Shares of Westpac dropped 2.5%, while National Australia Bank Ltd. fell 2.4%.
Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. slipped 0.8% after saying natural disasters, input costs and the strong Australian dollar were likely to limit first-half profit growth to 5%.
South Korean shares were pressured as foreign investors turned net sellers after a 10-session buying spree. Samsung Electronics Co. dropped 2.5% and Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. lost 4.1%.
In foreign-exchange markets, the euro came off its early lows and was recently buying $1.4863 U.S. compared with $1.4824 U.S. in late New York trade Tuesday, and 120.33 yen against ¥120.03.
CHINA
Chinese property shares also lost ground after an official at China Citic Bank Corp. on Wednesday warned of a "severe" risk in China’s real estate market this year amid government efforts to cool demand.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Composite Index gave back 82.10 points, or 2.6%, to 3,129.03
Jiangxi Copper Co. slumped 6% and PetroChina Co. gave up 2.2% in Shanghai, in addition to dropping 1.9% and 1.5%, respectively, in Hong Kong.
China Vanke Co. dropped 2% in Shenzhen, Poly Real Estate Group Co. fell 2.3% in Shanghai and China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. declined 2.6% in Hong Kong.
The sector was also weighed after the state-run Shanghai Securities News cited a source close to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development as saying China could expand home-purchase limits to more cities to prevent speculative capital from flowing into third- and fourth-tier cities.
In other markets;
Taiwan’s Taiex Index inched ahead 1.27 points to 8,947.35
Korea’s Kospi Index backtracked 20.09 points, or 0.9%, to 2,200.73
Singapore’s Straits Times index lost 39.81 points, or 1.3%, to 3,113.76
New Zealand’s NZX 50 budged only 0.07 points to 3,495.19
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 stumbled 44.50 points, or 0.9%, to 4,740.10
