Asian stocks swung between gains and losses as reports from the U.S., China and Japan that showed slowing growth in the world’s biggest economies stoked speculation ahead of this week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting that central banks will add stimulus measures.
Canon Inc. (7751), the world’s biggest camera maker, slipped 0.9 percent as U.S. companies hired fewer workers than economists estimated last month. Lend Lease Group, Australia’s biggest property developer, sank 4.5 percent after disclosing discrepancies in two projects. Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third-largest mining company, climbed 4 percent as copper futures in London headed for a second day of advance.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) rose 0.1 percent to 119.26 as of 10:20 a.m. in Tokyo, with four shares rising for every three that fell. The gauge posted its biggest advance this year on Sept. 7 after the European Central Bank unveiled a bond-buying program and China boosted stimulus measures.
“Following the weak U.S. jobs report, the backdrop is ideal to act this week and deliver more quantitative easing,” said George Boubouras, Melbourne-based head of investment strategy at UBS AG’s Australian wealth management unit. The Swiss bank has about $1.5 trillion in assets under management. “This week is looking like the last window for the Fed to act,” before the U.S. election.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 0.1 percent. The nation’s economy expanded in the second quarter at half the pace the government initially estimated, underscoring the risk of a contraction as Europe’s debt crisis caps exports.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.2 percent and South Korea’s Kospi Index both added 0.1 percent. Markets in Hong Kong and China are yet to open.
To contact the reporters on this story: Jonathan Burgos in Singapore atjburgos4@bloomberg.net; Adam Haigh in Sydney at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net
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