Asian stocks again

Asian stocks fell for a third day on concern losses at a Bear Stearns Cos. hedge fund will damp global investors' appetite for riskier assets such as equities.

Canon Inc. and Nintendo Co. led Japanese exporters lower as the yen strengthened against the dollar.

``With the markets being driven by global liquidity, much of the concern is that investors will get scared, lock in their gains and put their money under their pillows,'' said Jason Chong, who helps manage the equivalent of $600 million at UOB-OSK Management Sdn. in Kuala Lumpur.

BHP Billiton Ltd. led mining companies lower after copper prices fell. South Korea's Posco slid as some investors shrugged off the company's highest quarterly profit in two years and took recent gains as an opportunity to sell.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia Pacific Index lost 0.6 percent at 11.54 a.m. in Tokyo. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 1.1 percent. All markets open for trading in the region fell except Taiwan, Malaysia and the Philippines.

South Korea's Kospi index, which resumed trading after a one-day holiday, swung between gains and losses. Korea Exchange Bank advanced after a U.K. newspaper reported yesterday that HSBC Holdings Plc is interested in buying the lender.

Most U.S. stocks fell yesterday as a drop in crude prices sent oil producers such as Exxon Mobil Corp. lower. Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures dropped 0.7 percent today after results from Intel Corp., the world's biggest chipmaker, and Yahoo! Inc., owner of the most-visited U.S. Web site, spurred concern that profit forecasts for technology companies are too high.

Trimming Holdings

Canon, the world's largest maker of digital cameras, dropped 1.4 percent to 7,040 yen. Nintendo, the third-biggest maker of video-game players, slid 2.2 percent to 48,050 yen.

Japanese exporters fell on concern a stronger domestic currency will lower the value of overseas revenue. The yen was recently at 121.88 per dollar from 122.34 late in New York yesterday. Japan's currency traded at 168.33 per euro from 168.59.

``A weakening yen had been the biggest support for exporters, so its reversal is prompting investors to trim their share holdings,'' said Kenji Tomida, who oversees $16 billion as chief fund manager at T&D Asset Management Co. in Tokyo.

A measure of materials producers on MSCI's Asian benchmark slid 0.7 percent. Copper futures in New York slipped 0.4 percent today in after-hours trading to $3.538 a pound, set to close at the lowest since July 2.

Melbourne-based BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, fell 1.3 percent to A$37.71. Jiangxi Copper Co., China's second-biggest producer of the metal, declined 2.1 percent to HK$14.80 in Hong Kong.

Posco, Asia's biggest steelmaker by market value, fell 4.7 percent to 529,000 won. The stock had risen 25 percent this month before today. Its 14-day relative strength index, a moving average based on whether the shares rose or fell, ended at 79 on July 16. A level of 70 indicates to some investors that the shares are poised to slide.

Takeover?

The company said on July 16 that second-quarter profit climbed 55 percent to 1.11 trillion won ($1.2 billion) as it raised prices on higher demand from carmakers and shipbuilders. Analysts in a Bloomberg News survey expected 938 billion won.

Korea Exchange, the South Korean bank controlled by Lone Star Funds, advanced 4.7 percent to 14,450 won. HSBC is in early talks with Lone Star about a takeover of the lender for more than 2.5 billion pounds ($5 billion), the Daily Telegraph reported yesterday.

The talks are contingent on the outcome of a criminal probe into the buyout firm's purchase of the bank, the newspaper said.