STOCKS weekly review: 10.06 -- 14.06.2013 (ASIA)

Asian stocks outside Japan fell for a fifth week, the longest streak of losses in two years, amid concern central banks are losing an appetite for more stimulus. Japanese stocks rebounded the final day of the week.

The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index dropped 1.3% this week to 440.07, extending this year’s loss to 6.6%. A gauge that includes Japanese shares added 0.3% for the week. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell for a record 12 straight days through June 14 amid concern that growth is slowing in the world’s No. 2 economy.

The Bank of Japan kept its policy unchanged June 11 and refrained from allowing longer fixed-rate loans to banks to stem debt market volatility, even after spikes in Japanese government bond yields.

Investors will scrutinize discussions among policy makers at the U.S. central bank when they meet next week after Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said May 22 that the central bank could scale back stimulus should the job market show “sustainable improvement.”

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (HSI) fell 2.8% last week, a fifth week of declines, making it the worst performer among the world’s developed equity markets. The Hang Seng China Enterprises gauge fell 5.1%, taking the decline to 21%.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index retreated 2.2%, dragging valuations for the benchmark index to a six-month low.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 1.1%, while New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index lost 0.4%. South Korea’s Kospi Index slipped 3.9% and Taiwan’s Taiex index fell 2%. Singapore’s Straits Times Index lost 0.7%.

Japanese shares rallied the final day of the trading week after Nomura Holdings Inc. and Fidelity Worldwide said the country’s market would climb to new highs. The gains weren’t enough to recoup losses from earlier in the week.

The Topix index sank 0.1% last week, a fourth week of losses following on from its worst three-week decline since the the global financial crisis in 2008. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 1.5%.

Newcrest Mining slid 6.3%, among the worst performers on the Asia-Pacific benchmark last week. Bank of America Corp. cut its recommendation on shares of the gold producer, citing risks of a capital-raising should the price of the precious metal fall below $1,200 an ounce.

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