Macarthur Coal; Asian Stocks Drop Most in Two Weeks on U.S. Jobs, Australia Tax

Macarthur Coal; Asian Stocks Drop Most in Two Weeks on U.S. Jobs, Australia Tax

Asian stocks fell, with the regional benchmark index headed for its biggest drop in two weeks, as U.S. unemployment unexpectedly increased, dimming the outlook for the global economic recovery and Asian exporters' earnings.

Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea's No. 1 exporter of consumer electronics, sank 2.3 percent in Seoul as U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose at the slowest pace in nine months. Li & Fung Ltd., a supplier of toys and clothes that counts the U.S. as its biggest market, slipped 1.8 percent in Hong Kong. MacArthur Coal Ltd., BlueScope Steel Ltd. and Qantas Airways Ltd. led declines among Australian companies after the government announced the country's first tax on greenhouse-gas emissions.

"After the recent rally, structural problems are still there," said Lee King Fuei, a Singapore-based fund manager at Schroders Plc, which oversaw $323 billion as of March 31. "Jobs data in the U.S. continue to point to anemic growth. While Greece's debt problems have been pushed out, eventually it will come back to haunt us."

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 1 percent to 137 as of 3:30 p.m. in Tokyo, headed for its steepest drop since June 27. More than two stocks fell for each that rose on the measure. The gauge extended its rally for a third week last week as European Union leaders hammered out proposals to roll over debt to prevent Greece from defaulting and after reports showed retail sales in the U.S. increased in June, and initial claims for unemployment benefits declined.

Australia Leads Drop

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 0.7 percent. South Korea's Kospi Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 1.1 percent. China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2 percent, erasing losses of as much as 0.6 percent, on speculation inflation is peaking.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index sank 1.6 percent, the most among regional benchmark indexes, after Prime Minister Julia Gillard said yesterday polluters in Australia will pay A$23 ($24.74) per metric ton of carbon emissions. The country relies on coal to generate 80 percent of its electricity.

Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 0.6 percent today. The index dropped 0.7 percent on July 8 as the weakest American job growth in nine months hurt companies most-closely tied to the economy.

U.S. payrolls increased by 18,000 in June, less than the most pessimistic forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists, which called for growth of 105,000 on average. The jobless rate rose to a 2011 high of 9.2 percent. Read More