Asian shares dropped, with the regional benchmark index snapping two days of gains, led by Samsung Electronics Co. and Australian banks. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average pared gains after the Bank of Japan rejected a call for an immediate start to open-ended asset purchases.
Samsung, which yesterday announced it will invest 10.4 billion yen ($111 million) in troubled Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp., fell 2.6 percent in Seoul. Sharp tumbled 7.9 percent.Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., Australia’s No. 3 lender by market value, slid 0.8 percent after announcing plans to cut jobs and as the nation reported a bigger-than- expected trade deficit. Honda Motor Co. (7267), Japan’s second-biggest automaker by market value, pared gains to 0.6 percent in Tokyo.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.3 percent to 135.44 as of 7:38 p.m. in Tokyo, erasing a gain of less than 0.1 percent. About the same number of shares rose as fell the index, which capped a four-month advance in February, the longest such winning streak since September 2009, as central banks maintained loose monetary policy to support economic growth.
“The market is certainly not as cheap, but we don’t think it’s overpriced,” said Angus Gluskie, managing director at Sydney-based White Funds Management, which oversees more than $350 million. “Most investors believe the growth upside outweighs the risks.”
Shares on the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index traded at 14.9 times estimated earnings compared with 13.9 for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and 12.6 for the Stoxx Europe 600, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Australian Trade
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 0.2 percent. The nation’s trade deficit was twice as wide as economists forecast in January as floods in the northeastern state of Queensland disrupted coal exports and telecommunications equipment imports surged.
South Korea’s Kospi Index declined 0.8 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was little changed. China’s Shanghai Composite Index slid 1 percent, while Taiwan’s Taiex Index increased 0.1 percent.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.3 percent, paring a gain of as much as 1.2 percent.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 0.2 percent today. The U.S. equity gauge gained 0.1 percent yesterday and the Dow Jones Industrial Average extended its record high after a report by the ADP Research Institute Research Institute showed companies added more workers than expected in February.
