Asian stocks fell for a third day, with the regional benchmark index heading for a two-week low, as investors weighed corporate earnings and prospects Russia will be subject to new sanctions as tensions over Ukraine intensify.
The U.S. and European Union will impose new sanctions on Russia as soon as today as the crisis in Ukraine escalates amid the detention of international observers by pro-Russian separatists.
Japan’s Topix index fell 0.8%. The nation’s retail sales rose 6.3% in March from February, beating analyst estimates.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.6% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.4%. South Korea’s Kospi index slipped 0.1% and New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index lost 0.7%. Singapore’s Straits Times Index slipped 0.3%, while Taiwan’s Taiex index increased 0.4%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.1%.
Profit at Chinese industrial companies rose 10.1% in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to a report from the country’s statistics bureau released yesterday. China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, due May 1, is expected to come in at 50.5 for April, up from 50.3 for March, according to a survey of economists.
Honda dropped 4.5%. Net income may increase to 595 billion yen ($5.81 billion) in the 12 months ending in March 2015, from 574.1 billion yen a year earlier, the company said on April 25. That’s 14% below the 693 billion yen average of analyst estimates.
Japan Exchange sank 6.2%. The bourse operator said net income for the year through March 2015 will be 21 billion yen, 35% short of the 32.5 billion yen average estimate of analysts.
Japan Display Inc. plunged 16%. The company said today operating profit will be 27.2 billion yen for the year ended March, compared with its earlier projection of 30.4 billion yen. Revenue for the year was estimated at 614.2 billion yen, compared with a forecast of 623.4 billion yen.
China Life slipped 0.4%. The insurer said first-quarter net income fell 28% to 7.23 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) from a year earlier as investment returns dropped.
Among shares that advanced, Goodman Fielder Ltd. surged 15% after the maker of Meadow Fresh yogurt and Olive Grove margarine rejected a A$1.3 billion ($1.2 billion) offer from Wilmar International Ltd. and First Pacific Co., saying it ‘‘materially undervalues” the company.
Koito Manufacturing Co. jumped 15% after the supplier of lighting equipment to carmakers including Toyota Motor Corp. posted profit that beat analyst estimates.
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