Bloomberg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_Stock_Exchange

Asian Stocks Drop as Dollar Holds Gains While Oil Climbs

By Emma O’Brien and Weiyi Lim  Dec 23, 2014 5:10 AM GMT+0300  

Asian stocks fell, with commodity shares driving the regional index lower for the first time in four days. The dollar traded near a two-week high versus the yen before data on the U.S. economy, while crude oil climbed.

The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index lost 0.3 percent by 10:01 a.m. in Hong Kong, with a gauge of materials shares sliding 1.4 percent after a three-day rally. Stocks in Hong Kong fluctuated, while Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures were little changed after the measure rose to a record. The greenback headed for a fifth day of gains against the yen and climbed 0.2 percent versus Malaysia’s ringgit. Oil rose in New York and London after sinking last session.

“The commodity share rally was always expected to be shortlived,” said Ryan Huang, a market strategist at IG Ltd. in Singapore. “It was not sustainable with fundamentals largely unchanged. Investors are taking the rally as an opportunity to cash out and sell.”

Commodities (BCOM) are poised for their fourth straight annual decline, according to a Bloomberg index, as the collision of rising supplies and slowing global demand cuts prices. Oil andiron ore are trading at or near five-year lows. The U.S. may report today that the world’s largest economy grew more than was previously estimated last quarter, amid a slew of data from goods orders to home sales. Greek lawmakers will vote on the prime minister’s pick for president for the second time.

BHP Retreats

Energy producers and mining companies led declines on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index, which fell 0.7 percent. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, sank 2.9 percent after surging almost 9 percent over the past four days. Iron ore, Australia’s biggest export, lost 1.8 percent yesterday in Qingdao, China, to the lowest level since June 2009.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.1 percent, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks mainland Chinese shares listed in the city, fell 0.2 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index of mainland shares slumped 1.4 percent, weighed down by declines in PetroChina Co. and the nation’s banks. The Kospi index in South Korea lost 0.2 percent.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted annualized growth in the U.S. economy will be revised up to 4.3 percent for last quarter, from a previous estimate of 3.9 percent.

Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,178.57 an ounce on the spot market after sinking as much as 2.1 percent yesterday to $1,170.76, the lowest intraday level since Dec. 1. The Bloomberg Commodity Index dropped 1.5 percent last session, closing at its lowest level since 2009, and is headed for a decline of 15 percent in 2014, the most since 2008.

Oil Supplies

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.6 percent to $55.70 a barrel, after falling 3.3 percent yesterday. Prices are down 43 percent this year. Brent crude added 0.5 percent to $60.39 a barrel after slipping 2.1 percent last session.

Oil inventories in the U.S., the world’s largest consumer, probably dropped for a second week through Dec. 19, a Bloomberg News survey of energy analysts showed before data tomorrow. Iraq plans to boost output next year as members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries refuse to cede market position, Iraqi Oil Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said.

The yen dropped as much as 0.1 percent today to 120.18 per dollar, its weakest since Dec. 9. The currency capped a fourth day of losses last session, its longest slump in a month. The ringgit slipped to 3.4973 a dollar today, weakening for a third straight day.

The S&P 500 added 0.4 percent to an all-time high of 2,078.54 yesterday, as gains in Intel Corp. and International Business Machines Corp. led the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) up 0.9 percent, to a record 17,959.44.

Read more at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-22/yen-holds-drop-as-u-s-stocks-reach-records-oil-declines.html