Asia stocks lower on signs of slowing China growth

BANGKOK (AP) ? Asian stock markets fell Wednesday as more evidence of a slowdown in China raised concerns that its economy might not have the momentum needed to help sustain a global recovery.

Benchmark oil extended gains above $106 per barrel while the dollar fell against the euro and the yen.

Worries over the pace of the slowdown in the world's No. 2 economy were fueled by comments Tuesday from mining giant BHP Billiton, which warned that Chinese demand for iron ore ? used to make steel ? was flattening.

In another sign of cooling growth in the world's No. 2 economy, new home prices dropped in 45 Chinese cities in February as the government implemented measures to cool property speculation.

China's economy grew at an annual rate of 8.9 percent in the last three months of 2011, but the government, which wants to reduce reliance on exports and investment, has set a growth target of 7.5 percent this year. The lower growth target has made investors nervous, analysts said.

"The economic growth slowdown in mainland China is still the major concern," said Linus Yip, strategist at First Shanghai Securities. "The inertia is quite obvious."

In Japan, export-reliant companies like Toyota Motor Corp. felt pressure as the dollar gave up some of its recent gains against the yen. The Nikkei 225 index fell 0.4 percent to 10,099.19.

South Korea's Kospi index dropped 0.6 percent to 2,029.58.

In Australia, where economic growth is tightly bound to sales of its raw materials to China, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.4 percent lower at 4,256.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.4 percent to 10,092.44 after struggling to hold onto morning gains. Benchmarks in Singapore, mainland China and Taiwan also fell.

Analysts at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said China's growth should remain solid enough to exceed the government's target and "to support the region."

"We believe that China is slowing but the deceleration will continue to be gradual," they said in an email.

The weaker Chinese demand for iron ore hurt some of the region's major steelmakers. Japan's Nippon Steel Corp. slumped 2.1 percent and JFE Holdings Inc. fell 1.8 percent. South Korea's POSCO shed 2.8 percent.

The rising cost of crude is also a threat to the global economic outlook as it could spark inflation and hurt consumer spending. On Tuesday, China raised the price of retail gasoline for the second time in two months.

Japanese exporters fell as the yen nudged up against the greenback. Nissan Motor Corp. lost 2.6 percent and Sony Corp. plunged 3.7 percent. Nikon Corp. fell 2.2 percent.

Heavy equipment makers slid as expectations for stronger global growth faded. Japan's Komatsu Ltd. lost 2.8 percent and South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. shed 2.3 percent.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.5 percent to 13,170.19. The Standard & Poor's 500 eased 0.3 percent to 1,405.52. The Nasdaq composite index slipped 0.1 percent to 3,074.15.

Benchmark crude for May delivery was up 43 cents to $106.50 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $2.48 to $105.61 per barrel on the Nymex on Tuesday.

The dollar fell slightly to 83.67 yen from 83.69 yen. Earlier this week, the dollar was as high as 84.17 Japanese yen, its highest point against the yen since April 13.

The euro rose to $1.3274 from $1.3232 late Tuesday in New York.

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Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson

Associated Press

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