Asian stocks down despite US home sales rebound, improved FedEx forecast

Asian stocks down despite US home sales rebound

BANGKOK — Asian stock markets were down in light trading Tuesday, with investors refraining from major moves despite positive figures on U.S. new home sales and an upbeat forecast from shipping giant FedEx.

Oil prices hovered for a second day near $79 a barrel as investors weighed a three-day stock market rally against signs of sluggish U.S. crude demand. The yen was unchanged against the dollar, while the euro rose.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 6.39 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 20,833.52. South Korea’s Kospi Index fell 1.1, or 0.1 percent, to 1,768.04. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average was off 11.11, or 0.1 percent, to 9,492.46 after spending the morning in positive territory.

Elsewhere, China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.4 percent to 2,579.39. Benchmarks in Taiwan and New Zealand also lost ground. Indexes in Australia, Singapore and Thailand were up.

Many traders are likely waiting for hundreds of earnings reports to be released this week in the U.S., Europe and Japan before making any major investing decisions, analysts said.

“Volume is lower than normal,” said Tey Tze Ming, a trader at Saxo Capital Markets in Singapore. “There have been so many disasters in the making, it does seem a little hard for stocks to do well.”

FedEx — considered a barometer for how the U.S. economy is doing — gave investors reason to buy when it said its overnight and ground delivery businesses are doing better than expected, and that it expects a moderate global economic recovery.

But the news didn’t boost confidence that the global recovery was picking up steam. Many analysts view markets as fragile and easily swayed by insignificant events.

“It’s an up-and-down market. Investors are swinging from greed to fear,” said Kwong Man Bun, chief operating officer at Asia Ltd. in Hong Kong. “I think there is profit-taking pressure. If you look at the China-Asia market, it has some losses today. That reduces some upward momentum.”

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 100.81 points, or 1 percent, to 10,525.43 Monday, up for the third straight trading session, as investors welcomed better-than-expected new home sales in June.

The Commerce Department said Monday the sales jumped nearly 24 percent last month to an annual rate of 330,000 units, more than economists expected. The June data marked a rebound in sales from a record low in May of 267,000 units.

May’s number, which was revised downward, marked the slowest pace in records dating back to 1963. Sales for April and March were also revised downward.

Despite June’s increase, U.S. new home sales are far down from their peak as high unemployment, slow job growth and tight credit have kept Americans from buying homes.

Japanese exporters were under pressure due to a strong yen, which hurts them as it cuts their overseas income. The dollar was unchanged at 86.93 yen. The euro rose to $1.2993 from $1.2986.

Benchmark crude for September delivery was down 3 cents at $78.95 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract was unchanged to settle at $78.98 on Monday.