Asia Stocks Swing as Aussie, Copper Slide on China; Oil Retreats 

Asian stocks swung between gains and losses and the Australian dollar slipped after a slump in Chinese exports and producer prices. Copper fell, while crude oil retreated toward this year’s low after U.S. producers added rigs.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed by 12:57 p.m. in Tokyo, as Chinese equities rose a second day amid industrial-company merger speculation. South Korean and Malaysian stocks dropped, while Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added 0.2 percent after U.S. stocks fell last week. The Aussie weakened 0.3 percent while copper traded near a six-year low. Oil slid a fourth day. The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased two basis points.

China’s July exports plunged more than five times the rate projected by analysts, while producer prices slid the most since 2009, data at the weekend showed, spurring speculation the government may boost efforts to invigorate growth through state-owned enterprise reform. U.S. payrolls reports Friday showed continued expansion, albeit with slower-than-estimated wage gains, reinforcing bets on the Federal Reserve raising interest rates in September.

“Share markets are likely to remain volatile in the next few months,” Shane Oliver, a global strategist in Sydney at AMP Capital Investors Ltd., which oversees about $119 billion, said by e-mail. “Uncertainties remain regarding Chinese economic growth and a likely Fed interest-rate hike lies ahead for later this year.”

Asian Indexes

The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 3.2 percent after rebounding 2.3 percent Friday. The gauge finished last week 28 percent below a June 12 high. A measure of Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong erased declines to rise 0.5 percent, while the Hang Seng Index fell 0.2 percent.

President Xi Jinping mentioned state-owned enterprise reform on several occasions recently, which may signal top-level design ideas for SOE reform have been formed, China International Capital Corp. analysts led by Hanfeng Wang wrote in a note. China is considering combining China Shipping Group and Cosco Group, its two major shipping companies, according to people familiar with the matter.

Japan’s Topix index was little changed after an eight-day advance, trading near its highest level since June 24. A return to profit saw Japan Display Inc. jump 15 percent, a record for the company formed by the merger of struggling panel units from Sony Corp., Toshiba Corp. and Hitachi Ltd.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. plunged more than 7 percent after the operator of the wrecked Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant was excluded from an index of Japan’s best-run companies.

Shame Index

Investors had speculated that the company would be added to the government-backed JPX-Nikkei Index 400 Index amid improving financial results. Toshiba Corp. fell 1.7 percent after being removed from the so-called shame index, which picks companies with the best operating income, return on equity and market value to shame executives of those it excludes into boosting profit and shareholder returns.

The Kospi index in Seoul retreated 0.5 percent, heading for its lowest close since March. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.5 percent.

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index slid 1.7 percent. The measure has lost more than 10 percent from an April 21 peak as investors pulled funds amid concern about the political scandal enveloping Prime Minister Najib Razak and the worsening economic outlook. The ringgit was little changed near its lowest level since 1998.

Forecasts Cut

The Aussie traded at 73.96 U.S. cents after jumping 1 percent on Friday, while the New Zealand dollar slipped 0.2 percent to 66.08 U.S. cents. The kiwi jumped 1.1 percent Friday after Auckland-based dairy exporter Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd. cut its forecast milk payout to farmers by less than some economists had expected.

West Texas Intermediate fell for a fourth day, sliding 0.6 percent to $43.59 a barrel. It earlier dipped below $43.46, the lowest closing price since March 2009. U.S. crude futures dropped 6.9 percent last week as a rebound in U.S. drilling added to signs producers will keep pumping crude amid a global glut.

The number of rigs increased for a third week, Baker Hughes Inc. data show, while Societe Generale SA and JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price forecasts on weaker demand growth and oversupply.

Copper in London fell 0.6 percent to $5,144 a metric ton, extending a fifth weekly drop after the China data underscored weakening demand in the world’s biggest user of industrial metals.

Gold for immediate delivery was little changed at $1,094.70 an ounce after capping a seventh straight weekly loss.

Corn in Chicago rose 0.9 percent to $3.8725 a bushel on forecasts for dryer weather across U.S. growing regions. Soybeans gained 0.9 percent as analysts are expecting the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lower production and yield estimates. Wheat advanced 0.6 percent.

Source: Bloomberg – Asia Stocks Swing as Aussie, Copper Slide on China; Oil Retreats

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