Asian Equities Lower on Material Producers

Asian stocks fell, with the regional benchmark index heading for a second daily decline, as material companies slid.

Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM), Australia’s biggest gold producer, slipped 3.7 percent after the price of bullion fell. Fortescue Metals Group Ltd., the nation’s third-largest iron ore miner, sank 3.5 percent after a gauge of prices for the raw material in China dropped to an almost five-year low. Sekisui House Ltd. rose 2.5 percent in Tokyo after the homebuilder reported first-half net income increased.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.5 percent to 148.17 as of 10:57 a.m. in Hong Kong, with about four shares declining for every three that rose. The gauge headed for a 0.2 percent advance this week as reports showing faster growth in China’s service industries and U.S. manufacturing boosted optimism in the world’s biggest economies, and the European Central Bank unexpectedly cut interest rates.

Bloomberg

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