March 15 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell to a two-month low this week, led by exporters such as Sony Corp. and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd., on concern widening credit losses in the U.S. and record oil prices will slow global growth.
Posco led the slide among steelmakers and transportation stocks such as Qantas Airways Ltd. and China Cosco Holdings Co. fell after oil prices climbed to a record $111 a barrel.
``The weakness in the U.S. economy, coupled with high commodity prices, is combining to eat into margins for many Asian companies,'' said Ivan Tham, who helps oversee the equivalent of $5 billion in Asian assets at City of London Investment in Singapore.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. slid to its lowest in more than three years after a Carlyle Group fund failed to reorganize its debt and banks including Merrill Lynch & Co. said a Federal Reserve plan to pour as much as $200 billion into the financial system may not eliminate gridlock in credit markets.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 2.6 percent this week, extending last week's 5.4 percent slump and this year's loss to 14 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dropped 4.2 percent, falling to its lowest since August 10, 2005.
Record Weekly Loss
China's CSI 300 Index fell 10 percent this week, its biggest drop on record and the steepest loss in the region, on concern the government will raise interest rates to contain inflation, slowing growth in the world's fastest growing major economy.
``The market seems to be fraught with concerns that earnings growth will lose steam because of what the government has done and will do for the macro-economic environment,'' said Chen Shide, who manages the equivalent of $212 million at GF Fund Management Co. in Guangzhou.
A regional measure that includes steel and commodities companies dropped 4.9 percent and an index that includes airlines and shippers declined 4.2 percent, the worst performers among the MSCI Asia Pacific's 10 industry groups.
Mitsubishi UFJ, Japan's biggest publicly traded bank, lost 3.8 percent this week to 829 yen, its lowest close since May 17, 2004. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the world's largest bank by value, lost 3.5 percent to HK$4.92 even after President Yang Kaisheng said it made ``sufficient'' provisions against U.S. subprime-related investments.
Sony, Posco
``There's fear in the markets,'' said David Ng, who helps manage about $1 billion at Hwang-DBS Asset Management Sdn. in Kuala Lumpur. ``It's a case of when it rains, it pours, and it's pouring. What the market needs to know is how many more Carlyles are there.''
Sony, which gets a quarter of its electronics sales from the U.S., lost 8.9 percent this week to 4,200 yen, its lowest since Nov. 18, 2005. Hon Hai, the world's largest contract manufacturer of consumer electronics, slumped 7.7 percent to NT$174.50, its second-biggest weekly decline this year, on concern that widening subprime losses will cool economic growth.
Posco, Asia's largest steelmaker, fell 13 percent to 442,000 won in Seoul, its biggest weekly loss since October 2000, on concern higher oil prices will increase costs. BlueScope Steel Ltd., Australia's largest steelmaker, dropped 11 percent this week to A$9.26 in Sydney, its largest drop since February 2006.
Crude oil settled in New York at a record $110.33 a barrel on March 13, after rising up to $111 barrel. Jet fuel, the biggest expense for most Asian carriers, climbed 16 percent this year through yesterday, compared with a 15 percent gain in crude- oil prices.
Qantas Airways, Australia's largest airline, slid 7.9 percent to A$3.71, completing five weeks of losses. China Cosco, the world's largest operator of dry-bulk ships, tumbled 18 percent to HK$18 in Hong Kong, its second-biggest weekly decline this year.
``We may be approaching a critical point where cost-related problems start to emerge, especially for energy-dependent industries,'' said Lim Chang Gue, who oversees the equivalent of $2 billion at Samsung Investment Trust Management Co. in Seoul.
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