By Naomi Tajitsu
TOKYO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Asian stocks edged lower on
Thursday, taking their lead from U.S. share markets, with
investors also fretting over Japanese firms such as electronics
giant Sony <6758.T> cutting their profit forecasts as U.S.
consumers spend less.
Supply problems in South Africa kept platinum prices <XPT=>
near their record of $1,819 an ounce earlier this week, but oil
dipped below $87 a barrel to near their lowest since last
October on signs of weaker demand in the United States, the
world's top consumer.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index <> slipped 0.8
percent as banks such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
<8306.T>, down 3.9 percent, struggled. Losses in BHP Billiton
Ltd <BHP.AX> led a near-2 percent slide in Australian shares
<>.
Lunar New Year holidays brought trading in much of Asia to
a halt, with markets in China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan,
Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia closed until next week.
Tokyo shares took a cue from Wall Street's <> 65 point
drop on Wednesday, but were also weighed down as investors shed
stocks on concerns over reduced earnings forecasts.
"Japanese shares are very cheap in terms of valuation and
other measures, but the market doesn't see it that way unless
it is convinced of a good corporate earnings outlook," said
Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities.
"And corporate earnings are getting weak."
The dollar <JPY=> held steady against the yen at around
106.40 yen, and was supported versus the euro <EUR=> at around
$1.4625 ahead of a policy announcement by the European Central
Bank later on Thursday.
The ECB is widely expected to hold interest rates at 4
percent, and investor focus is likely to be on whether the ECB
would keep its vigilance on inflation risks even as signs show
that economic growth in the region may be slowing.
In Australia, top miner BHP Billiton eased 0.8 percent,
while its hostile takeover target Rio Tinto Ltd <RIO.AX> was
off 1.5 percent at 0200 GMT. Rio has rejected BHP's $147
billion bid, the second biggest in corporate history.
While Japanese investors worried about lower earnings
forecasts from the likes of Sony, financial group Orix <8591.T>
and electronic parts maker Taiyo Yuden Co Ltc <6976.T>, shares
in video game maker Capcom Co <9697.T> jumped nearly 15 percent
after it raised its full-year operating profit guidance.
Japan's broader TOPIX index <> fell 1.3 percent, and
has dropped more than 13 percent so far in 2008.
U.S. Federal Reserve officials warned on Wednesday that the
central bank could not drop its guard on fighting inflation,
while also expressing concern about a possible U.S. recession.
Japanese government bonds slipped in early trade, pushing
up the benchmark 10-year yield <JP10YTN=JBTC> 1.5 basis points
to 1.420 percent.
Losses were limited as concerns about a possible U.S.
recession and problems in the bond insurer sector meant there
was still good demand for safe-haven government debt.
U.S. crude oil for March delivery <CLc1> was down 31 cents
at $86.81 a barrel on the Globex electronic trading platform,
though trade was thin with much of Asia closed.
Oil prices have tumbled from a January record high above
$100 on fears that the U.S. economy is slipping into recession.
Gold <XAU=> slipped below $900 an ounce.
