By Rafael Nam
HONG KONG, March 10 (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell to near a
seven-week low on Monday after surprisingly weak U.S.
employment data hit regional exporters and sent the dollar
tumbling towards a record low against the euro and an 8-year
low against the yen.
Asian exporters face a tough outlook as their biggest
market looks to be in or near a recession just as regional
currencies surge. Financial firms' shares have been another big
loser this year as they suffer the consequences of a global
credit crunch.
Inflationary pressures remain another concern. Oil prices
on Monday remained near a peak, despite the worsening global
economic outlook, due to cold weather in parts of the United
States, and gold moved back above $975 an ounce.
"The (U.S. employment) data is backward-looking so it has
probably been in a recession for a couple of months at this
stage and, certainly, markets have priced in that the (U.S.)
economy is slowing quite considerably," said Richard Herring,
director at Burrell & Co. in Australia.
"The biggest fear is that we don't know when this credit
crunch is going to end. The fear of the unknown."
The MSCI measure of Asian stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> fell 1.5 percent by 0210 GMT after earlier in
the day hitting its lowest since Jan. 23.
The prospects of a U.S. recession and worsening global
credit conditions have hit Asian stocks hard this year, with
the MSCI index down 14 percent as of last week, worse than the
12 percent fall seen in the Standard & Poor's S&P 500 <.SPX> or
the 10 percent drop in the Dow Jones industrial average <>.
Exporters such as Sony Corp <6758.T>, which depend on U.S.
consumers, dropped on data published on Friday showing U.S.
employers unexpectedly cut jobs last month at the steepest rate
in nearly five years. []
Financial firms such as National Australia Bank <NAB.AX>
also fell on concerns about further credit- or subprime-related
writedowns worldwide after U.S. housing loan provider Thornburg
Mortgage Inc <TMA.N> said on Friday it cannot meet its own
lenders' demands for $610 million of cash or collateral.
[]
Japan's Nikkei average <> was off 1.4 percent, as were
Taiwan stocks <> and shares in South Korea <> fell
1.7 percent. Stock markets in Australia <> and China
<> were down 2 percent, or more.
Malaysia's main share index <> slumped 7.5 percent
after the ruling coalition suffered its heaviest-ever election
setback on Friday, when opposition Islamists and leftists won
control of five of the nation's 13 states. []
OIL NEAR RECORD
But there were some brighter spots.
Data on Monday showed Japan's core machinery orders jumped
19.6 percent in January, almost seven times the expected rate.
[], and in South Korea, the finance ministry held its
2008 economic growth target of around 6 percent, higher than
2007's 4.9 percent, arguing deregulation and tax cuts may help
offset the impact of a slowing global economy. []
But the weakness of the U.S. economy continues to be the
dominant theme for global investors.
The dollar continued this year's slump, falling around 0.5
percent to 102.22 <JPY=>, while the euro rose 0.3 percent to
$1.5394 <EUR=>, near a record high of $1.5465 hit in electronic
trade on Friday.
The falling value of the world's dominant currency has been
a major factor behind this year's surge in commodity prices.
These gains, especially in food staples such as wheat, have
caused alarm among central bankers worldwide, with a number of
them voicing concerns during a Paris conference last week.
[]
Oil prices edged lower on Monday, with U.S. light crude for
April delivery <CLc1> down 40 cents at $104.75 a barrel, though
still within sight of a record $106.54 hit on Friday.
Gold <XAU=> moved back up above $975 an ounce from around
$972 in late Friday trading in New York, while spot platinum
<XPT=> firmed to $2,052/$2,062 an ounce from $2,020/$2,030.
Asian bonds edged up, with Japanese government bond futures
climbing near to a 2-1/2-year high struck last week. March
futures <2JGBv1> rose 0.33 point to 139.38.
