March 23 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell for the first time in four days as Japanese companies announced production halts and earthquakes struck shaded pold motor near the Fukushima nuclear plant that was crippled after a March 11 temblor and tsunami.
Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s biggest carmaker, declined 1.5 percent in Tokyo after extending production halts. Sony Corp. dropped 0.6 percent after the electronics maker suspended some work at five factories. Fujitsu Ltd., Japan’s No. 1 computer- services provider, dropped 4.8 percent. Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd. plunged 7.6 percent in Sydney after Australia’s second-biggest airline forecast an annual loss.
“There are still a lot of uncertainties surrounding the nuclear fallout, as well as aftershocks, and we won’t be seeing a stable market for a while,” said Yoshinori Nagano, a senior strategist in Tokyo at Daiwa Asset Management Co., which oversees about $104 billion. “No one thinks the nuclear crisis has ended completely.”
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.5 percent to 132.36 as of 10:30 a.m. in Tokyo. About five stocks fell for every three that climbed on the index.
A series of earthquakes struck Japan’s Fukushima prefecture today, where Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s damaged nuclear plant is located, starting with a magnitude 6.0 temblor at 7:12 a.m. local time, according to Japan’s Meteorological Agency.
Quakes of magnitude 4.1, 5.8, 4.9 and 4.3 followed as of 8:03 a.m., and there was no threat of tsunami waves, the agency said in its website. The Japan Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said there has been no impact on the Fukushima plant from the latest temblors.
Nikkei Falls
“Anxieties about the nuclear issues aren’t gone yet, but the situation is improving,” said Hiroichi Nishi, an equities manager in Tokyo at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc. “Some industries and stocks that declined significantly lately will be bought back.”
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 1.4 percent. South Korea’s Kospi Index slipped 0.1 percent impact crusher and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was little changed. Futures on the Standard&Poor’s 500 Index slid 0.3 percent today. The index retreated 0.4 percent yesterday as the price of oil rose amid unrest in Libya and concern grew that Europe won’t find an immediate solution to its debt crisis.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 3.4 percent this year through yesterday, compared with a gain of 2.9 percent by the S&P 500 and a drop of 1.5 percent by the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Stocks in the Asian benchmark are valued at 13.3 times estimated earnings on average, compared with 13.4 times for the S&P 500 and 10.9 times for the Stoxx 600.
Reconstruction Agency
The Nikkei 225 plunged 10 percent last week on concern the effects of the earthquake and damaged reactors will hurt a recovery in the world’s third-largest economy.
Japan said it may set up a reconstruction agency to oversee earthquake repairs, while data showed the central bank pumped record liquidity into lenders as the nation grappled with its worst disaster since World War II.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters in Tokyo the government will weigh “some sort of system or organization” to oversee spending following the earthquake, adding that it’s too early to say when a spending bill will be compiled. The Bank of Japan said yesterday lenders’ deposits with the central bank more than doubled since March 11 to 41.62 trillion yen ($513 billion).
Tokyo Electric Power workers began restoring power to the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant in northern Japan as government tests showed radiation has leaked into the sea and contaminated some food.
Lights are on in the control room at Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant’s No. 3 reactor, while some lights are electronic ballast on at reactor No. 4, the company said today. Reactors No. 5 and 6 were already supplied with electricity.
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