Asia stocks fall as China stimulus hope fades

By Virginia Harrison and Nick Godt, MarketWatch

MUMBAI (MarketWatch) — Asia stock markets fell Wednesday, giving up some of the strong gains from the previous session, as hopes for an aggressive stimulus spending in China faltered, and as more trouble in Spain posed fresh threats to the euro zone.

Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average /zigman2/quotes/210597971/delayed JP:NIK +0.85%  and South Korea’s Kospi /zigman2/quotes/210598069/delayed KR:180721 -0.49%  both lost 0.3%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index /zigman2/quotes/210598100/delayed AU:XJO +0.11%  fell 0.5%.

In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index /zigman2/quotes/210598030/delayed HK:HSI -1.82%  slumped 1.9%, and the Shanghai Composite /zigman2/quotes/206600939/delayed CN:000001 -0.18%  shed 0.2%.

Optimism about Chinese stimulus measures to power the economy took a hit after a state media report suggested the package will be relatively mild, compared to actions taken at the height of the global financial crisis, in late 2008. Read more on the extent of likely Chinese stimulus measures.

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Financials slumped in Hong Kong, with Bank of Communications Co. /zigman2/quotes/203442771/delayed HK:3328 -1.68%   /zigman2/quotes/208048873/delayed BKFCF +2.72%   /zigman2/quotes/207155262/delayed CN:601328 +0.69%  down 1.4% and China Life Insurance Co. /zigman2/quotes/202359856/delayed HK:2628 -0.96%   losing 1.9%.

Strategists at Barclays Capital said that while fresh easing measures could provide short-term upside for Chinese banking stocks, “resorting to investment stimulus and rates cuts are contrary to what China needs in the long run, namely economic rebalancing to consumption-driven .... deleveraging of the economy.”

Hong Kong-listed property firms also suffered, with Sino Land Co. /zigman2/quotes/202960683/delayed HK:83 -1.51%   /zigman2/quotes/206858840/delayed SNLAY -0.19%  down 1.8% and Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. /zigman2/quotes/209086152/delayed HK:16 -1.53% /zigman2/quotes/205427525/delayed SUHJY -1.40%  losing 1.6%.

However, property shares listed on mainland bourses moved in the other direction, with Gemdale Corp. /zigman2/quotes/208026094/delayed CN:600383 -3.63%  rising 1% in Shanghai and China Vanke Co.  up 0.4% in Shenzhen.

Spain worries

Chinese stimulus concerns added to existing offshore worries weighing on sentiment in Asia.

More credit rating downgrades for Spain and a Financial Times report that the European Central Bank rejected the nation’s bank-recapitalization plans highlighted distress in the euro zone and pressured the common currency. Read report on ECB's rejection of Spain's Bankia plans.

Weakness for the euro weighed on some leading exporters in Tokyo, as Sony Corp. /zigman2/quotes/201361720/delayed JP:6758 +1.56%   traded down 1.9%, Toshiba Corp. /zigman2/quotes/204149068/delayed TOSYY -1.36%    /zigman2/quotes/205628942/delayed JP:6502 -0.11%  lost 1.7%, and Sharp Corp. /zigman2/quotes/203224600/delayed JP:6753 +1.61%   /zigman2/quotes/207472799/delayed SHCAF -1.31%  slumped 3%.

NEC Corp. /zigman2/quotes/205173342/delayed JP:6701 +0.88%  took a 2.6% drop, with the firm set to buy the IT operations of Australia’s CSG Ltd . CSG shares surged 18.4% in Sydney.

Technology firms were also weak in Seoul, where Samsung Electronics Co. /quotes/zigman/203012110/realtime SSNGY 0.00%  retreated 1% and LG Electronics Inc. LGEIY 0.00%  dropped 0.9%.

On the upside, stock in Olympus Corp. /zigman2/quotes/200860615/delayed JP:7733 +0.30%  climbed 4% following an Asahi Shimbun report that the firm is in talks to form a capital alliance with Panasonic Corp. /zigman2/quotes/201785256/delayed JP:6752 +2.69%  or Sony to help shore up its balance sheet. Panasonic shares surrendered 2.2%. Read more on reported Olympus tie-up plans.

Renesas Electronics Corp. /zigman2/quotes/203872935/delayed JP:6723 +0.95%   /zigman2/quotes/201351352/delayed RNECY -0.26% remained in focus — and shares soared 27.5% — after Dow Jones Newswires cited the company as saying reports of a major restructuring were “sensational” in nature.

Stock in resource firms dragged across the region as commodity prices eased overnight.

Diversified Citic Pacific Ltd. /zigman2/quotes/205176597/delayed HK:267 -2.73%   /zigman2/quotes/208232395/delayed CTPCF -3.02% , which has a presence in iron ore mining, slumped 1.8% in Hong Kong, while in Sydney, diversified miner Rio Tinto Ltd. /zigman2/quotes/200083756/delayed AU:RIO -1.21% /zigman2/quotes/202627887/composite RIO -1.71% gave up 1.4%.

Australian gold producer Newcrest Mining Ltd. /zigman2/quotes/203840223/delayed AU:NCM -0.04% /zigman2/quotes/203286036/delayed NCMGY -1.07%  slumped 2.3% after a sharp drop in gold futures in New York overnight.

Energy firms also came under selling pressure after crude-oil futures traded below $91 a barrel in electronic trading.

Tokyo-listed JX Holdings Inc. /zigman2/quotes/208590403/delayed JP:5020 -0.50%  declined 2.2%, while Hong Kong-traded shares of Cnooc Ltd. /zigman2/quotes/203421416/delayed HK:883 -1.02%   dropped 1.7%, and Sydney-listed Santos Ltd. /zigman2/quotes/207349564/delayed AU:STO +0.65%  gave up 1.3%.

Still in Australia, shares of Wesfarmers Ltd. /zigman2/quotes/204567133/delayed AU:WES +0.60% /zigman2/quotes/201861689/delayed WFAFY +0.06%  eased 0.2% as investors reacted to a sales and strategy update from the conglomerate, which cited a challenging market environment for its Officeworks chain. Read more on Wesfarmers’ sales update.

Also dragging on Australian retailers, government data showed the country’s retail sales disappointed with a 0.2% drop in April. Read more on Australia’s April retail sales.

/zigman2/quotes/210597971/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:100000018

NIKKEI 225 Index

JP : Nikkei

32,678.62

+276.21 +0.85%

Volume: 0.00

Sept. 25, 2023 3:15p

/zigman2/quotes/210598069/delayed

Add to watchlist KR:SEU

KOSPI Composite Index

KR : Korea Exchange

2,495.76

-12.37 -0.49%

Volume: 438,615

Sept. 25, 2023 6:05p

/zigman2/quotes/210598100/delayed

Add to watchlist AU:XJO

S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index

AU : S&P ASX

7,076.50

+7.70 +0.11%

Volume: 511,740

Sept. 25, 2023 5:27p

/zigman2/quotes/210598030/delayed

Add to watchlist HK:HSI

Hang Seng Index

HK : Hong Kong Exchange

17,729.29

-328.16 -1.82%

Volume: 1.55M

Sept. 25, 2023 4:08p

/zigman2/quotes/206600939/delayed

Add to watchlist CN:000001

Ping An Bank Co. Ltd.

CN : China: Shenzhen

¥ 11.22

-0.02 -0.18%

Volume: 76.12M

Sept. 25, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

4.65

Dividend Yield

2.54%

Market Cap

¥218.12 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥6.48M

/zigman2/quotes/203442771/delayed

Add to watchlist HK:3328

Bank of Communications Co. Ltd.

HK : Hong Kong

$ 4.69

-0.08 -1.68%

Volume: 15.18M

Sept. 25, 2023 4:08p

P/E Ratio

3.26

Dividend Yield

8.69%

Market Cap

$410.04 billion

Rev. per Employee

$6.65M

/zigman2/quotes/208048873/delayed

Add to watchlist BKFCF

Bank of Communications Co. Ltd.

US : U.S.: OTC

$ 0.57

+0.01 +2.72%

Volume: 0.00

Sept. 1, 2023 11:00a

P/E Ratio

3.10

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$49.92 billion

Rev. per Employee

$848,479

/zigman2/quotes/207155262/delayed

Add to watchlist CN:601328

Bank of Communications Co. Ltd. A

CN : China: Shanghai

¥ 5.82

+0.04 +0.69%

Volume: 101.47M

Sept. 25, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

4.59

Dividend Yield

6.41%

Market Cap

¥382.77 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥5.90M

/zigman2/quotes/202359856/delayed

Add to watchlist HK:2628

China Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

HK : Hong Kong

$ 12.32

-0.12 -0.96%

Volume: 23.75M

Sept. 25, 2023 4:08p

P/E Ratio

9.12

Dividend Yield

4.33%

Market Cap

$924.62 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/202960683/delayed

Add to watchlist HK:83

Sino Land Co. Ltd.

HK : Hong Kong

$ 8.49

-0.13 -1.51%

Volume: 3.41M

Sept. 25, 2023 4:08p

P/E Ratio

11.61

Dividend Yield

6.83%

Market Cap

$70.44 billion

Rev. per Employee

$1.70M

/zigman2/quotes/206858840/delayed

Add to watchlist SNLAY

Sino Land Co. Ltd. ADR

US : U.S.: OTC

$ 5.34

-0.01 -0.19%

Volume: 33.00

Sept. 22, 2023 2:30p

P/E Ratio

11.44

Dividend Yield

6.33%

Market Cap

$9.01 billion

Rev. per Employee

$216,938

/zigman2/quotes/209086152/delayed

Add to watchlist HK:16

Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd.

HK : Hong Kong

$ 80.20

-1.25 -1.53%

Volume: 3.69M

Sept. 25, 2023 4:08p

P/E Ratio

9.72

Dividend Yield

6.17%

Market Cap

$236.02 billion

Rev. per Employee

$1.77M

/zigman2/quotes/205427525/delayed

Add to watchlist SUHJY

Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. ADR

US : U.S.: OTC

$ 10.20

-0.15 -1.40%

Volume: 159,189

Sept. 25, 2023 12:24p

P/E Ratio

9.69

Dividend Yield

5.80%

Market Cap

$30.18 billion

Rev. per Employee

$225,605

/zigman2/quotes/208026094/delayed

Add to watchlist CN:600383

Gemdale Corp. A

CN : China: Shanghai

¥ 6.90

-0.26 -3.63%

Volume: 76.74M

Sept. 25, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

5.49

Dividend Yield

1.97%

Market Cap

¥32.32 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥2.93M

/zigman2/quotes/201361720/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:6758

Sony Group Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 12,390.00

+190.00 +1.56%

Volume: 2.20M

Sept. 25, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

16.40

Dividend Yield

0.65%

Market Cap

¥15131.50 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥107.89M

/zigman2/quotes/204149068/delayed

Add to watchlist TOSYY

Toshiba Corp. ADR

US : U.S.: OTC

$ 15.22

-0.21 -1.36%

Volume: 14,110

Sept. 25, 2023 12:16p

P/E Ratio

23.58

Dividend Yield

1.02%

Market Cap

$13.47 billion

Rev. per Employee

$227,533

/zigman2/quotes/205628942/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:6502

Toshiba Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 4,601.00

-5.00 -0.11%

Volume: 9.60M

Sept. 25, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

26.49

Dividend Yield

0.00%

Market Cap

¥1994.01 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥31.18M

/zigman2/quotes/203224600/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:6753

Sharp Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 916.00

+14.50 +1.61%

Volume: 2.06M

Sept. 25, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

0.00%

Market Cap

¥585.30 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥54.70M

/zigman2/quotes/207472799/delayed

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Sharp Corp.

US : U.S.: OTC

$ 6.04

-0.08 -1.31%

Volume: 0.00

Aug. 23, 2023 9:37a

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$4.03 billion

Rev. per Employee

$397,577

/zigman2/quotes/205173342/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:6701

NEC Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 8,182.00

+71.00 +0.88%

Volume: 795,600

Sept. 25, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

18.24

Dividend Yield

1.47%

Market Cap

¥2209.91 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥28.35M

/quotes/zigman/203012110/realtime

Add to watchlist SSNGY

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. GDR Pfd. 144A

US : U.S.: OTC

$ 0.00

0.00 0.00%

Volume:

P/E Ratio

0.00

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

N/A

Rev. per Employee

N/A

Add to watchlist LGEIY

LG Electronics Inc. New Sp GDR 144A Com

US : U.S.: OTC

$ 0.00

0.00 0.00%

Volume:

P/E Ratio

0.00

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

N/A

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/200860615/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:7733

Olympus Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 2,015.00

+6.00 +0.30%

Volume: 4.78M

Sept. 25, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

7.07

Dividend Yield

0.89%

Market Cap

¥2516.33 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥27.32M

/zigman2/quotes/201785256/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:6752

Panasonic Holdings Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 1,778.00

+46.50 +2.69%

Volume: 7.17M

Sept. 25, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

9.94

Dividend Yield

1.83%

Market Cap

¥4041.59 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥36.14M

/zigman2/quotes/203872935/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:6723

Renesas Electronics Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 2,276.00

+21.50 +0.95%

Volume: 7.20M

Sept. 25, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

12.12

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

¥4036.42 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥71.66M

/zigman2/quotes/201351352/delayed

Add to watchlist RNECY

Renesas Electronics Corp. ADR

US : U.S.: OTC

$ 7.56

-0.02 -0.26%

Volume: 75,389

Sept. 25, 2023 12:24p

P/E Ratio

11.02

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$27.26 billion

Rev. per Employee

$521,361

/zigman2/quotes/205176597/delayed

Add to watchlist HK:267

CITIC Ltd.

HK : Hong Kong

$ 7.12

-0.20 -2.73%

Volume: 9.31M

Sept. 25, 2023 4:08p

P/E Ratio

3.36

Dividend Yield

9.09%

Market Cap

$212.94 billion

Rev. per Employee

$4.69M

/zigman2/quotes/208232395/delayed

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CITIC Ltd.

US : U.S.: OTC

$ 0.92

-0.03 -3.02%

Volume: 1.00

Sept. 13, 2023 11:42a

P/E Ratio

3.39

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$27.69 billion

Rev. per Employee

$598,008

/zigman2/quotes/200083756/delayed

Add to watchlist AU:RIO

Rio Tinto Ltd.

AU : Australia: Sydney

$ 113.18

-1.39 -1.21%

Volume: 1.18M

Sept. 25, 2023 4:10p

P/E Ratio

14.40

Dividend Yield

5.19%

Market Cap

$165.52 billion

Rev. per Employee

$1.45M

/zigman2/quotes/202627887/composite

Add to watchlist RIO

Rio Tinto PLC ADR

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 62.98

-1.09 -1.71%

Volume: 1.89M

Sept. 25, 2023 12:39p

P/E Ratio

11.67

Dividend Yield

6.37%

Market Cap

$106.93 billion

Rev. per Employee

$999,665

/zigman2/quotes/203840223/delayed

Add to watchlist AU:NCM

Newcrest Mining Ltd.

AU : Australia: Sydney

$ 26.82

-0.01 -0.04%

Volume: 814,905

Sept. 25, 2023 4:10p

P/E Ratio

20.81

Dividend Yield

2.00%

Market Cap

$23.92 billion

Rev. per Employee

$499,733

/zigman2/quotes/203286036/delayed

Add to watchlist NCMGY

Newcrest Mining Ltd. ADR

US : U.S.: OTC

$ 17.18

-0.19 -1.07%

Volume: 25,943

Sept. 25, 2023 12:23p

P/E Ratio

19.85

Dividend Yield

1.51%

Market Cap

$15.46 billion

Rev. per Employee

$336,144

/zigman2/quotes/208590403/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:5020

ENEOS Holdings Inc.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 615.70

-3.10 -0.50%

Volume: 12.28M

Sept. 25, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

3.57%

Market Cap

¥1775.96 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥329.02M

/zigman2/quotes/203421416/delayed

Add to watchlist HK:883

CNOOC Ltd.

HK : Hong Kong

$ 13.58

-0.14 -1.02%

Volume: 67.12M

Sept. 25, 2023 4:08p

P/E Ratio

4.24

Dividend Yield

9.87%

Market Cap

$689.71 billion

Rev. per Employee

$23.81M

/zigman2/quotes/207349564/delayed

Add to watchlist AU:STO

Santos Ltd.

AU : Australia: Sydney

$ 7.69

+0.05 +0.65%

Volume: 3.93M

Sept. 25, 2023 4:10p

P/E Ratio

9.87

Dividend Yield

4.82%

Market Cap

$24.76 billion

Rev. per Employee

$2.98M

/zigman2/quotes/204567133/delayed

Add to watchlist AU:WES

Wesfarmers Ltd.

AU : Australia: Sydney

$ 53.55

+0.32 +0.60%

Volume: 928,203

Sept. 25, 2023 4:10p

P/E Ratio

24.63

Dividend Yield

3.57%

Market Cap

$60.39 billion

Rev. per Employee

$361,808

/zigman2/quotes/201861689/delayed

Add to watchlist WFAFY

Wesfarmers Ltd. ADR

US : U.S.: OTC

$ 17.13

+0.01 +0.06%

Volume: 19,907

Sept. 25, 2023 12:10p

P/E Ratio

23.44

Dividend Yield

3.20%

Market Cap

$39.02 billion

Rev. per Employee

$243,370