Asian stocks fell for the fourth consecutive day. This time, Standard & Poor's downgrade of the Spanish debt rating dragged the lists down. Weak data on machinery orders from Japan also had an impact. Fanuc, the world's largest maker of machinery control devices, slipped 2,3% in Tokyo. Lynas suffered a real debacle in Sydney (-16%) after a court decision further slowed the development of a refinery in Malaysia. Honam Petrochemical instead grew by 0,8% in Seoul after the announcement of the forthcoming construction of a rubber processing plant in South Korea with the Italian Eni.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 0,4%, while South Korea's Kospi fell 0,1 percent. Finally, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0,3 percent. More broadly, the MSCI Asia Pacific index was little changed at 120.49 as of 9:56am in Tokyo. About eight shares went down for every seven up. The index is heading for its biggest weekly decline since August after the International Monetary Fund cut growth forecasts for the world's major economies this week and warned of possible further setbacks unless policy makers in America and Europe effectively address threats to the economy. S&P's Spanish downgrade "reminds investors that the situation remains dire," said Angus Gluskie, managing director of White Funds Management in Sydney. “Savers must remain cautious, this is certainly not the time to make big bets”.
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