Asian Stocks Fall for Second Day; Mitsubishi UFJ Leads Declines

Dec. 13 -- Asian stocks fell, led by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., on concern a plan by central banks to inject cash into the global financial system will fail to stem credit-market losses.

Mitsubishi UFJ, Japan's biggest lender by value, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. both fell the most in a month after Bank of America Corp. and Wachovia Corp. said credit losses will widen.

The Federal Reserve and four other central banks added cash to the financial system yesterday in the biggest concerted liquidity injection since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

``The Fed's actions are not going to be enough to prevent the situation from deteriorating,'' said Koichi Kurose, chief strategist at Resona Trust & Banking Co. in Tokyo. ``Further investment losses are very probable and we've got to be cautious about the earnings of financial companies.''

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.5 percent to 162.32 as of 10:16 a.m. in Tokyo, adding to a 1.3 percent slide yesterday. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 1.2 percent to 15,738.12.

Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis predicted loan losses will increase next year at his company, the second-biggest U.S. bank. Wachovia, ranked fourth, said it may set aside twice as much for loan losses than planned in this quarter.