Asian shares dropped for a second day, led by raw-material producers, after metal prices fell the most in two weeks yesterday. The euro strengthened against the majority of its peers, while oil advanced.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) lost 0.4 percent as of 9:27 a.m. in Tokyo. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 0.4 percent and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures were little changed. The euro added 0.2 percent, while the South Korean won weakened 0.1 percent. Oil gained 0.4 percent to $106.44 a barrel in New York.

 

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A man reacts as he looks at an electronic stock board outside a securities firm in Tokyo. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

Stocks fell around the world yesterday, pulling the S&P 500 (SPX) down from an almost four-year high, as China raised fuel prices and BHP Billiton Ltd. said the nation’s steel production is slowing. The London Metal Exchange Index (LMEX) of prices for six industrial commodities slumped 1.5 percent yesterday. Japan will release its monthly economic assessment later today and data may show purchases of existing U.S. homes climbed in February to the highest level in almost two years, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

BHP, the world’s biggest mining company, fell 2 percent in Australian trading, poised for the biggest drop in two weeks. Rio Tinto Group slid 1.4 percent. A gauge of raw-material producers in the MSCI Asia-Pacific gauge retreated 0.8 percent, the most among 10 industries.

David Jones Ltd. (DJS) tumbled 9.5 percent. The second-largest department store chain in Australia said full-year profit may fall as much as 40 percent, twice the pace of the first-half decline, amid a slide in consumer spending and higher costs.

Sales of previously owned U.S. houses climbed 0.9 percent to a 4.61 million annual rate, the most since May 2010, a report from the National Association of Realtors is forecast to show today, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists.

Oil in New York dropped 2.3 percent yesterday, the biggest decline in three months. Prices pared losses after the American Petroleum Institute said U.S. crude supplies fell 1.4 million barrels last week. An Energy Department report today may show inventories increased 2.2 million barrels, a Bloomberg News survey showed.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lynn Thomasson in Hong Kong atlthomasson@bloomberg.net

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