Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Chinese stocks slid, dragging the region’s benchmark to its third straight decline, after regulators told some of the nation’s banks to limit lending. The dollar gained against all 16 of the most-traded currencies.
The Shanghai Composite Index lost 2.1 percent and Hang Seng Index slipped 1.3 percent, leading declines in Asia. The Morgan Stanley Asia Pacific Index fell 0.6 percent to 124.48 at 3:25 p.m. in Tokyo. The New Zealand dollar weakened 1 percent to 72.81 U.S. cents and the euro tumbled to a four-month low against the dollar. U.S. stock futures were negative.
While China may report a 10.5 percent increase in fourth- quarter gross domestic product, investors say the government is taking steps to limit growth in what has been the engine of recovery from the recession. The nation’s chief banking regulator, Liu Mingkang, said in an interview today that some banks were asked to reduce lending after a record 9.59 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) in new loans were made last year.
“In terms of monetary policy, China’s overall trend is heading for tightening this year to keep economic bubbles from bursting, but officials are also trying to sustain and expand the economic growth with budgetary tools,” said Kyohei Morita, chief economist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo. “That’s a difficult and narrow path to walk through.”
Energy, Bank Stocks
Five issues fell for every three that rose on the MSCI Asia index as energy and finance stocks led the declines. Shares of healthcare companies gained. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 0.3 percent following IBM Corp.’s earnings results after the U.S. benchmark climbed 1.3 percent yesterday.
Energy shares declined as oil futures in New York dropped 1 percent to $78.26 a barrel. PetroChina Co., China’s No. 1 oil producer, fell 2.3 percent to HK$9.34. Bank of China Ltd. lost 2 percent to HK$4.01. Nomura Holdings Inc. lost 3.8 percent to 711 yen after Credit Suisse Group AG cut its investment rating on the Japanese securities industry to “market weight” from “overweight.”
The Hang Seng declined as Shanghai’s government said a Caijing magazine report that the city may allow individuals to invest abroad is “pure fabrication.” The report drove the Hang Seng up by 1 percent yesterday.
A gauge of healthcare stocks on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 1.9 percent, the most of any industry group. Scott Brown won a U.S. Senate seat vacated by the death of Ted Kennedy giving Republicans enough members to block votes on an overhaul of the U.S. health-care system, President Barack Obama’s top legislative goal.
Japanese Drug Makers
“The healthcare bill has a negative impact on healthcare stocks as it basically limits the price of drugs,” said Takeru Ogihara, who helps oversee $27 billion as chief strategist at Mizuho Trust & Banking Co. in Tokyo. “If the healthcare bill is put aside, it’ll help the U.S. health stocks and the big Japanese health companies that are doing business there too.”
Astellas, which derives 27 percent of sales from North America, climbed 2.7 percent to 3,565 yen. Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Asia’s biggest drugmaker, added 1.7 percent to 4,000 yen. The company gets 41 percent of revenue in North America.
China is trying to restrain economic growth to avoid asset bubbles. Regulators asked some of the nation’s banks to limit lending after they failed to meet capital requirements, said Liu, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission. The CBRC hasn’t asked all Chinese banks to halt lending, Liu said in an interview in Hong Kong today. He didn’t identify which banks were told to limit loans.
‘Emergency Mode’ Over
China’s economy accelerated for the third straight quarter, according to the median of 41 forecasts in a Bloomberg survey before the data’s release tomorrow. The People’s Bank of China pushed the government’s one-year bill yield to a 14-month high yesterday.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao dropped the phrase of a proactive fiscal policy and relatively loose monetary policy in comments published yesterday. The speech to the State Council marked the “official” end of the nation’s emergency stance to combat the recession, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch Hong Kong- based economist Lu Ting said in an e-mailed note last night. The draft may mark “a significant change in China’s policy stance and officially draws an end to the emergency mode of government policies” since the fourth quarter of 2008, Lu said.
The 16-nation euro weakened on speculation European Central Bank Executive Board member Juergen Stark will reiterate his bearish outlook for the region’s economy and the budget deficit in Greece when he speaks today.
Euro Drops
The euro declined against 10 of its 16 most-traded counterparts, and fell to as weak as $1.4188, the lowest since Sept. 1. The retreat in the euro also hit emerging-market currencies. South Korea’s won slid for a fourth day, the longest losing streak in six weeks, down 1 percent to 1,138.05 per dollar. The Malaysian ringgit dropped 0.7 percent to 3.3612.
Oil fell as the dollar advanced. Crude stockpiles climbed for a third week through Jan. 15, according to a Bloomberg News survey before an Energy Department report tomorrow.
The cost of protecting Asia-Pacific bonds from default fell today, as measured by credit-default swaps. The prices fall when perceptions of creditworthiness improve, and vice versa.
The benchmark Markit iTraxx Asia index of 50 investment- grade borrowers outside Japan fell 4 basis points to 95 basis points, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc prices show. The Markit iTraxx Japan index declined 0.5 of a basis point to 129.5 basis points, according to Morgan Stanley prices.