Asia-Pacific stocks fell for the fourth day, with the benchmark index heading for a three-week low, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index retreated from a record and as consumer shares slipped.
Calbee Inc., Japan’s largest seller of potato chips, dropped 2.4 percent. Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia’s biggest gold producer, slid 1.9 percent after the price of bullion closed yesterday at a three-month low. Honda Motor Co. (7267), a carmaker that gets about 84 percent of sales abroad, added 1.1 percent as Japan’s currency touched an almost six-year low.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) slipped 0.3 percent to 147.84 as of 11:40 a.m. in Tokyo, heading for its lowest close since Aug. 14. The equity gauge rebounded 14 percent from a February low through yesterday amid signs the U.S. economy is strengthening and as China introduced stimulus. The S&P 500 Index retreated from an all-time high yesterday following a five-week rally.
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index slipped 0.1 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index fell 0.2 percent, while the Philippine Stock Exchange Composite Index declined 0.5 percent. Taiwan’s Taiex index and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index each rose 0.2 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index and Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.1 percent each. Markets in South Korea and Hong Kong are closed for a holiday.
Japan’s Topix index climbed 0.2 percent, paring gains of as much as 0.5 percent, after the yen touched its lowest since October 2008. The measure is close to erasing this year’s losses.