By Chua Kong Ho and Chan Tien Hin
March 13 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell the most in almost a week on concern widening credit losses and a slump in the dollar will dent earnings among the region's banks and exporters.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia led declines among banks after a Carlyle Group mortgage-bond fund failed to reorganize its debt and Shinsei Bank Ltd. cut its profit forecast. Toyota Motor Corp., which gets 58 percent of its sales outside of Asia, dropped in Tokyo as the dollar fell close to 100 yen, the lowest since 1995.
``There's fear in the markets,'' said David Ng, who helps manage about $1 billion at Hwang-DBS Asset Management Sdn. in Kuala Lumpur. ``It's a case of when it rains, it pours, and its pouring. What the market needs to know is how many more Carlyles are there.''
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 2.1 percent to 137.58 as of 3:45 p.m. in Tokyo, the biggest drop since March 7. The measure is down 13 percent this year, on fears the U.S. will enter a recession amid increasing losses linked to investments in the country's mortgage industry. All 10 of the gauge's industry groups declined, with more than eight stocks dropping for each one that climbed.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 3.3 percent to 12,433.44, the lowest since Aug. 31, 2005. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped 3.9 percent, the most in five weeks, after an influenza outbreak triggered the closure of primary schools and kindergartens. Most markets in Asia declined.
Carlyle Fund
Qantas Airways Ltd. fell as crude oil rose above $110 a barrel, raising concern fuel costs will increase. Amada Corp., a Japanese machine-tool maker, rose the most in three weeks on a report that the company will post a record profit.
The U.S. Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 0.9 percent yesterday after investment banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said a Federal Reserve plan to pour as much as $200 billion into the financial system may not eliminate gridlock in credit markets.
Financial firms have been battered by $188 billion in losses and writedowns related to a collapse in the subprime mortgage market. Carlyle's fund, which received more than $400 million in margin calls since March 5, today said it was unable to reach an agreement with lenders.
Commonwealth Bank, Australia's second-largest bank, declined 5.6 percent to A$39.50, the most since Feb. 13. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan's biggest publicly traded bank, tumbled 6.8 percent to 844 yen, the steepest drop since Dec. 13. A$27.61. DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Singapore's No.1 bank, dropped 2 percent to S$17.
Yen Strength
Shinsei Bank Ltd., the first Japanese bank to be acquired by overseas investors, dropped 5.2 percent to 400 yen, after cutting its profit forecast because of $100 million in fourth- quarter U.S. mortgage-related losses.
A gauge of financial shares on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, the worst performer of the main benchmark's industry groups this year, dropped 3.2 percent. The regional gauge yesterday climbed the most in two weeks on the Fed's plan, which Merrill Lynch & Co. said may not be enough to solve the credit-market crisis.
``The Fed's plan is just buying time, a stop-gap measure,'' said Lim Kok Boon, Singapore-based chief investment officer at Fortis Private Banking, which manages $9.5 billion in assets. ``I don't think we're through the worst of it.''
Toyota, Japan's biggest automaker, fell 3 percent to 5,250 yen as the weaker dollar threatened to erode the value of Japanese companies' dollar-denominated sales. The U.S. currency fell to 100.22, the lowest since Nov. 13, 1995.
Honda Motor Co., the No. 2 carmaker, dropped 4.2 percent to 2,940 yen. Nintendo Co., which gets two-thirds of its sales outside Japan, declined 4.8 percent to 51,300 yen.
`Critical Point'
Qantas, Australia's largest airline, fell 4.2 percent to A$3.65, the lowest level since Sept. 18, 2006. Korean Air Lines Co., the biggest international air-cargo carrier, plunged 8.3 percent to 56,400 won.
Crude oil traded near a record $110.20 a barrel in New York. Jet fuel, the biggest expense for most Asian carriers, climbed 14 percent this year through yesterday, compared with a 15 percent gain in crude-oil prices.
``We may be approaching a critical point where cost-related problems start to emerge, especially for energy-dependent industries,'' said Lim Chang Gue, who oversees the equivalent of $2 billion as head of overseas investment at Samsung Investment Trust Management Co. in Seoul. ``It would also be negative for consumer spending.''
Amada gained 3.6 percent to 712 yen. The company's operating profit will rise 6 percent the next fiscal year, the Nikkei newspaper reported.
Influenza Outbreak
In Hong Kong, fears that an influenza outbreak will escalate helped send the Hang Seng Index to its first loss in four days. A severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic in 2003 killed 299 people and crippled the city's economy.
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., the city's flag carrier, tumbled 5.1 percent to HK$14.90, on speculation tourist numbers will decline. Shangri-La Asia Ltd., Asia's largest luxury hotel operator, plunged 8.6 percent to HK$19.46, the biggest loss since Dec. 28, 2006.
China Railway Construction Corp., builder of more than half the nation's railroads, rose 14 percent to HK$12.20, set to record the smallest gain in a Hong Kong trading debut since November. Its Shanghai-traded shares had the worst first-day gain for mainland initial sales since 2006.
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