Shares of Asian exporters fell Wednesday as oil rose to $117 a barrel and developed economies sputtered, although investors found some value in energy stocks and companies that are dependent on domestic growth.
Oil prices climbed for a third day, supported by fears that Tropical Storm Gustav, for now downgraded from a hurricane, could damage crude and natural gas assets in the Gulf of Mexico.
Although prices are about $30 below record highs hit in July, this week’s 2 percent rise is a reminder of corporate Asia’s vulnerability to cost pressures.
TheU.S. dollar fell after hitting a six month high against the euro on Tuesday, as dealers closed out of short-term bets on further strength after the currency did not extend gains in Asia.
Reports overnight generally reflected differing degrees of weakness in Europe and the United States. Sentiment on German business activity was at a three-year low, and U.S. new home sales were lower than expected, though up from the prior month.
Big exporter stocks like Honda Motor and Samsung Electronics weighed on their respective indexes. Citi slashed its 2008 and 2009 profit forecasts for Samsung, the consumer gadgets maker, by 26 and 29 percent, respectively, citing falling prices and high marketing costs.
The Nikkei share average ended down 0.2 percent, closer to the fivemonth low touched last Friday.
‘‘There’s some news relevant for specific stocks, but we don’t see any new factors to impact the overall market, either positive or negative,’’ said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, head of the investment information department at SMBC Friend Securities in Tokyo.
Outside Japan, stocks in the Asia-Pacific region were up 1.2 percent, but still within sight of a 17-month low hit last Thursday, according to an MSCI index.
The Hang Seng index rose 1.9 percent, lifted by post-earnings relief rallies in the index heavyweights China Mobile and China Life, who both reported better-than-expected earnings.
Stocks listed on the Shanghai Composite index were slightly lower, led by bleeding airlines. The index has more than halved so far this year, making it the world’s worst performing major equity market.
The main stock indexes in Australia and Singapore were flat, while South Korea’s edged higher after recovering from earlier losses.
Taiwan stocks ended 1.7 percent higher as beaten down shares like Cathay Real Estate attracted buyers, while Indian shares retreated 1.3 percent on renewed inflation fears from rising oil prices.
Global stock markets are also in a downward trend and hit a near two-year low on Tuesday, according to the MSCI all-country world index.
There were reasons for cautious optimism.
Short interest, essentially bets on falling asset prices, dipped on the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange in the first half of August, suggesting that investors may think the worst of the market downturn may be over.
In particular, investors cut short positions in financial shares, and increased their bets against some Canadian resources stocks.
The euro rose 0.5 percent to about $1.4730, bouncing from an overnight low of about $1.4570. The dollar fell 0.4 percent against the yen to ¥109.15, off more than a yen from a seven-month high around ¥110.66 set two weeks ago.
The October U.S. light crude future rose more than a dollar to about $117.50 a barrel, having now recovered more than $5 from a three-month lowon Aug.
15.
Gold prices, which have tended to trade in the opposite direction to the U.S. dollar for several weeks, rose 0.2 percent in the spot markets to about $826 an ounce.