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Asian Shares Slip Amid Volatility in Oil Market
Shares of BHP Billiton and Noble Group rise as bargain buying lifts some of the region’s most battered stocks
By CHAO DENG
Updated Feb. 23, 2016 3:40 a.m. ET
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A global rally fizzled out during Asian trading hours Tuesday, with most share markets finishing in the red as oil prices slipped again.
The Shanghai Composite Index finished down 0.8% at 2903.33, although it held above the key 2900 level and had been down as much as 1.8% intraday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.3%, closing at 19414.78 and Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average lost 0.4%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was off 0.4% at 4979.60. On Monday, that benchmark closed above the psychologically important 5000 mark for the first time in about three weeks.
Australian mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd. rose 2.6%, as bargain buying lifted some of the region’s most battered stocks from this year’s global market rout. BHP’s stock, which has lost about 42% in the past 12 months amid a prolonged downturn in commodity prices, was up, even after the firm slashed its dividend, the clearest sign yet of the deteriorating backdrop for the global mining industry.
Shares of Noble Group Ltd. recovered to gain 1.4% in Singapore, even after the commodities trader said it will record a one-time loss of $1.2 billion in its fourth-quarter to reflect lower assumptions of long-term coal prices. The stock is off 65% in the past 12 months.
“As the markets shake off one of the worst starts to the year on record, the risk-reward points to the upside in exploring oil-related plays,” said an analyst report by Jefferies. The firm noted how oil prices have been leading stocks in the region this year, with markets bouncing back quickly in recent occasions when oil prices broke below the symbolic $30-a-barrel level.
It was a down day for the overall region, however, amid lingering worries about the global outlook and volatility in the oil market. Markets in the region had started the day in the green, after global stocks rekindled a rally on Monday. Overnight, the Dow industrials gained 1.4%.
“There are still concerns that unexpected events could hit stocks,” said Takashi Hiratsuka, a trading group leader at Resona Bank’s asset management division, which manages 17 trillion yen. Instability in the European Union in the case of Britain’s potential exit is the most recent addition to the list of risk events, he said.
U.S. crude futures gained 6.2% to $31.48 a barrel overnight, after the International Energy Agency said it expects U.S. shale-oil production to fall by 600,000 barrels a day in 2016. But oil prices slipped in the Asia trading session, with Brent crude oil was last down 1.9% at $34.04 a barrel.
Energy shares finished down 0.5% in Australia, but were up 1.1% in Hong Kong. Oil Search Ltd. was down 3% while Woodside Petroleum Ltd. slipped 0.1%.
Meanwhile, HSBC lowered its year-end forecasts for the Chinese and Hong Kong stock markets, citing lower earnings projections and expectations for more market volatility. It now expects the Shanghai Composite Index to rise only to 3200, down from a previous 3900 forecast. And it expects the Hang Seng Index to end the year at 21000, down from a forecast of 24500.
—Kosaku Narioka contributed to this article.
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