Asian stocks fell Monday for the fourth day in a row, the longest losing streak in six weeks, on concern a U.S. housing slump will cut consumer spending in the region’s biggest export market. Toyota Motor Corp. led the decline.
The risk for Asian companies “now lies with external demand,” said Soichiro Monji at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. in Tokyo. “People may feel uncertain about corporate earnings, mainly because of the weakness in U.S. economic indicators.”
The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index lost 0.7 percent. The four-day decline was the longest since July 18. Nine out of 10 industry groups fell. U.S. reports last week on home sales suggested higher borrowing costs will limit economic growth in the world’s biggest economy.
Japan’s Nikkei index sank 1.1 percent. Stock benchmarks fell in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, New Zealand and Thailand. China’s Shanghai Composite index closed at a one-month high.
PEAK OF SUMMER: European stocks climbed to a three-month high. Infineon Technologies AG paced a rally by technology shares, the worst-performing industry group this quarter.
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“The slightest bit of good news will help technology stocks,” said Maurice Gravier, head of European equities at Natexis Asset Management in Paris. “The shares aren’t expensive” given the outlook for earnings.
The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 added 0.4 percent, as did the Stoxx 50. The Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 12 nations sharing the euro, climbed 0.7 percent. National benchmarks rose in all 17 Western European markets that were open except Norway, Greece and Iceland.