Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell, pushing a regional index to a seven-week low. Toyota Motor Corp. and LG.Philips LCD Co. dropped after a U.S. inflation report added to concern that higher borrowing costs will slow demand for the region's exports.
The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index, which tracks more than 1,000 stocks, lost 1.7 percent to 106.53 as of 1:35 p.m. in Tokyo, set for its lowest since Sept. 1. All 10 industry groups fell. The benchmark is set for a six-day, 4.1 percent decline, the longest losing streak in five months.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 2 percent to 13,081.95, while the Hang Seng Index fell 1.4 percent in Hong Kong. South Korea's Kospi index dropped 2.7 percent, Asia's biggest slide. Indexes around the region declined, except in China and the Philippines.
Semiconductor-related stocks including Samsung Electronics Co. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. dropped after Intel Corp., the world's biggest computer-chip maker, forecast fourth-quarter sales that may miss analysts' estimates.
The Standard & Poor's Index lost 1 percent yesterday in the U.S. after the Labor Department said prices paid to factories, farmers and other producers jumped 1.9 percent. Economists had expected a gain of 1.2 percent in a Bloomberg News survey.
Toyota, the world's most valuable automaker, dropped 2.8 percent to 5,150 yen. The company had 60 percent of its sales outside Japan last year. LG.Philips, the world's largest maker of liquid-crystal displays, slid 3.3 percent to 38,050 won.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index has retreated 6 percent this month after remarks from Fed officials including Chairman Alan Greenspan indicated that interest rates will continue rising. Fed policy makers will next meet on Nov. 1 and will probably raise rates for the 12th straight time since June 2004 to 4 percent, according to 62 of 67 economists in a Bloomberg survey.
Li & Fung Ltd., which buys Asian-made clothing for U.S. customers including Abercrombie & Fitch Co., tumbled 3.6 percent to HK$16.10. It generated about 70 percent of its sales from the U.S. last year.
Advantest Corp., the world's biggest maker of memory-chip testing equipment, declined 2.7 percent to 8,610 yen. Stats Chippac Ltd., the world's third-largest provider of testing and packaging services for computer chips, fell 2.6 percent to 93.5 Singapore cents.
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., China's biggest made-to-order chipmaker, lost 3.3 percent to HK$1.19. Meanwhile, the company will cut its average selling price by 5 percent to 10 percent in the fourth quarter, the Commercial Times said, without saying where it got the information.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Composite Index added 0.4 percent, halting a five-day, 0.9 percent drop. Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the nation's biggest company by market value, climbed after the Supreme Court yesterday affirmed a key tax law, boosting confidence the government can cut debt.
The court's tax ruling yesterday will help President Gloria Arroyo narrow the deficit for a fourth year in 2005. The nation will balance its budget by the end of 2008, two years ahead of Arroyo's plan, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said today.
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