mineral exploration project – commodity prices – mining stock- trade and market

Asian stocks fell as China’s Industrial Bank Co. predicted slower growth in new lending, while the euro retreated on speculation the European Central Bank will delay withdrawing stimulus measures.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.7 percent to 119.97 as of 5:10 p.m. in Tokyo, after a four-day, 3.3 percent climb. The euro declined from near a two-week high against the dollar on forecasts the ECB will keep its benchmark rate at 1 percent today. Copper dropped for the first day in five on concern recent gains may be overdone amid weak demand from China. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures lost 0.4 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid 0.5 percent at 8:10 a.m. in London.

Concern China will raise borrowing costs and curb lending to cool the economy have dragged the Shanghai Composite Index down 7.7 percent this year. Greece’s struggle to cut its budget deficit, which has led to surging bond yields, means the ECB is facing the biggest crisis in the euro’s 11-year history just as it tries to mop up liquidity pumped into the economy last year.

“Policies are the biggest risk facing the banking industry and banking stocks aren’t likely to have good performances until the tightening comes to an end,” said Yan Ji, who helps oversee $1.2 billion at HSBC Jintrust Fund Management Co. in Shanghai.

The Shanghai Composite dived 2.5 percent, the most in a month and leading all Asia indexes lower, as banks declined on concern the government’s tighter control over credit growth will hurt earnings. Commodity producers slipped on lower metal prices.

Banks Slide

Industrial Bank Co., part-owned by a unit of HSBC Holdings Plc, dropped 1.9 percent after predicting growth in the bank’s new lending will drop almost 50 percent this year. China Citic Bank Corp. lost 1.4 percent. Jiangxi Copper Co. and Zijin Mining Group Co., China’s gold producers and copper producers, slid at least 1.9 percent each.

Morgan Stanley Asia Chairman Stephen Roach said today that comments made by Premier Wen Jiabao about the nation’s economic growth were a “serious concern.” Wen, who will give what amounts to China’s State of the Union speech tomorrow to the National People’s Congress in Beijing, has called China’s growth path “unbalanced, uncoordinated, and unsustainable.”

The euro traded at $1.3655 from $1.3697 in New York yesterday when it reached $1.3736, the strongest since Feb. 17. It bought 120.37 yen from 121.17 yesterday.

Europe’s common currency has fallen 4.3 percent against the dollar this year amid concern Greece’s struggle to narrow its deficit will hamper the region’s recovery.

ECB Unchanged

All 52 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News expect the ECB to keep the benchmark rate at 1 percent at its policy meeting today. Gross domestic product in the 16-nation euro region rose 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter following a 0.1 percent gain in the previous period, according to the median estimate of 32 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before today’s data.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou disclosed additional deficit-cutting measures worth 4.8 billion euros ($6.6 billion) yesterday, steps Moody’s Investors Service said are “consistent” with the nation’s current A2 rating with a negative outlook. The U.S. economy improved in nine of the Federal Reserve’s 12 regions in January and February, although the Beige Book survey described gains as “modest” with weakness in labor demand and loan demand.

“The Greek deal will soothe pessimism over the euro,” said Takeshi Makita, senior economist in Tokyo at Japan Research Institute Ltd., a unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., Japan’s third-largest banking group. “It will weaken heavy speculative selling of the euro.”

Japan Spending

Japanese businesses cut spending for an 11th quarter, signaling a revival in exports remains insufficient to prompt investment that would spur the recovery.

Capital spending excluding software fell 18.5 percent in the three months ended Dec. 31 from a year earlier, after dropping a record 25.7 percent in the previous quarter, the Finance Ministry said today in Tokyo.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose less than 0.1 percent yesterday as ADP Employer Services said companies last month cut the fewest jobs in two years. The Institute for Supply Management’s index of non-manufacturing businesses, which make up almost 90 percent of the economy, rose more than economists estimated.

Investor Confidence

“So far, the U.S. recovery has been driven mainly by manufacturing, so the improvement in the non-manufacturing sector is bolstering investor confidence in the American economy,” said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees about $450 million at Tokyo-based Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co.

A gauge of material producers on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.7 percent, the most of 10 industry groups. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, gained 1.2 percent to A$42.16 in Sydney. Mincor Resources NL, an Australian nickel producer that supplies BHP, surged 2.1 percent to A$1.675.

Oil was trading at $80.32 a barrel in New York after climbing to a seven-week high yesterday as U.S. refineries boosted output, signaling increasing fuel demand in the world’s biggest energy user.

“We had some reasonably positive data out of the U.S. on the macro economic outlook,” said Ben Westmore, a minerals and energy economist at National Australia Bank Ltd. in Melbourne.

Copper for three-month delivery dropped as much as 1.8 percent to $7,445 a metric ton, trimming it increase for the week to 4.4 percent. Codelco, the world’s largest producer, has resumed full output in Chile after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake on Feb. 27 knocked out power to two mines. Port operations are also returning to normal.

source : bloomberg.com

Find More Other News : Asia Pacific Index - asian stock - china gold producers - copper producers - Jiangxi Copper - Zijin Mining Group