Asian Stocks Have Worst Weekly Loss Since August; Banks Slide

Asian stocks fell, dragging a regional benchmark to its worst weekly performance in almost three months, amid mounting credit-market losses at financial companies and a plunge in the dollar.

Westpac Banking Corp. slipped after Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley reported mortgage-related losses. Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Japan's second-largest publicly traded bank, slumped after the Nikkei newspaper said a merger of one of the bank's brokerages and Shinko Securities Co. will be delayed by subprime-related losses.

``The uncertainty in subprime and further writeoffs in the U.S. banking system would certainly put pressure on stocks here,'' said Hans Goetti, who oversees $10 billion as Singapore-based chief investment officer at LGT Bank in Liechtenstein AG.

Nintendo Co., which generated more than a third of its sales from the Americas in the last financial year, led exporters lower on concern a weaker dollar will erode its U.S. income when converted back to yen.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia Pacific Index lost 3.38 percent to 162.84 this week, the worst decline since the five days ended Aug. 17. All 10 industry groups retreated.

China Life Insurance Co. slumped in Hong Kong, sending the Hang Seng Index to its first drop in nine weeks, after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said his government may delay allowing mainland investors to buy the city's stocks. Benchmarks retreated around the region, except in Malaysia where the key gauge rose 0.3 percent to 1402.25. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average slumped 5.7 percent, its second-worst performance this year.
asr-finance.com