Most Asian Stocks Drop Before China Meeting; HSBC Climbs

Bloomberg (05/11) -- Most Asian stocks dropped ahead of a meeting of China’s top party officials this weekend. HSBC (5) Holdings Plc gained after Europe’s largest lender posted higher earnings. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. paced declines among mainland lenders listed in Hong Kong. Nissan Motor Co. (7201) sank 10 percent, the most since 2008, after the Japanese carmaker cut its profit forecast. Kubota Corp. (6326) rose 7.9 percent in Tokyo as the tractor maker reported profit that topped estimates. HSBC Holdings Plc added 1.5 percent in Hong Kong after third-quarter pretax profit increased 30 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed at 141.10 as of 5:21 p.m. in Tokyo, having swung between gains of as much as 0.5 percent and losses of 0.2 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.7 percent. China’s leaders meet in Beijing Nov. 9-12 to map out reforms as the world’s second-largest economy heads for its slowest growth in more than two decades. Taiwan’s Taiex Index declined 1.1 percent and South Korea’s Kospi index slid 0.6 percent. India’s S&P BSE Sensex index dropped 1 percent. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index lost 0.4 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.8 percent, maintaining gains after the central bank held its benchmark rate at a record-low 2.5 percent. That matched the prediction of all 31 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, with 13 forecasting an increase by the fourth quarter of next year.