Asian Stocks Slump Most in Two Weeks on Growth Concerns; Aquarius Tumbles

Asian stocks fell after revenue atBank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and General Electric Co.missed analyst estimates and a gauge of U.S. consumer confidencesank to the lowest in a year.

James Hardie Industries SE, the biggest seller of homesiding in the U.S., slumped 1.9 percent in Sydney on concerndemand for its products will fall. Samsung Electronics Co.,which gets a fifth of its sales in America, sank 1.1 percent inSeoul. BHP Billiton Ltd. lost 1.2 percent in Sydney followingdeclines in metal prices last week. Aquarius Platinum Ltd.tumbled 25 percent on concern new directives from South Africa’smines inspector will hurt earnings.

The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index dropped 1.1percent to 390.46 as of 10:04 a.m. in Hong Kong. Japanesemarkets are shut today for a holiday. The MSCI gauge fell by themost since July 1 and has slumped 6.2 percent this year onconcern European budget deficits and Chinese measures to curbproperty prices will hurt global growth.

“The results by market heavyweights such as Citigroup,Bank of America and General Electric point to a U.S. economy ina recovery mode that is at best is patchy,” said Tim Schroeders,who helps manage about $1.1 billion at Pengana Capital Ltd. inMelbourne. “The recovery may require fiscal stimulus to get toa point of being self-sustaining.”

The S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 1.4 percent in Australia,where Prime Minister Julia Gillard over the weekend set a datefor a national election. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slumped 0.9percent, while South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.4 percent.

Consumer Sentiment

The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2 percent. China’sexport growth is expected to slow to about 16.3 percent in thesecond half as the government removes tax rebates and Europe’sdebt crisis worsens, the China Securities Journal reported today.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were littlechanged. The gauge plunged 2.9 percent on July 16 as the ThomsonReuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment fellmore than economists estimated. Bank of America, the largest U.S.bank by assets, slid 9.2 percent.

“The revenue misses, coupled with the softer U.S. consumerconfidence number, served to reinforce the possibility of growthstalling in the U.S.,” said Angus Gluskie, who oversees $300million at White Funds Management Pty in Sydney.

James Hardie slumped 1.9 percent to A$6.09 in Sydney andWestfield Group, which runs shopping malls in the U.S., lost 1percent to A$12.35. Samsung declined 1.1 percent to 793,000 wonin Seoul. LG Electronics Inc., South Korea’s No. 2 electronicsmaker, fell 1.3 percent to 97,400 won.

Copper, Oil

A gauge of raw-material producers in the MSCI Asia Pacificexcluding Japan Index dropped 1.4 percent, the most of 10industry groups. Copper futures fell 2.7 percent in New York onJuly 16, while gold lost 1.7 percent. Crude oil fell for afourth day today.

BHP declined 1.2 percent to A$37.70, while Rio Tinto Group,the world’s third-largest mining company, sank 1 percent toA$65.11. Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia’s biggest gold producer,slumped 2 percent to A$33.60.

Australian commodity stocks also fell as Prime MinisterGillard called a general election for Aug. 21, setting the stagefor a battle that will determine whether the nation’s resourcescompanies pay higher taxes.

“Some investors will start to speculate on the outcome aspreliminary polls emerge, so we can expect to see share pricesbouncing around with the ebb and flow of investor sentiment,”said White Funds’ Gluskie.

Also in Sydney, Aquarius Platinum plunged 25 percent toA$3.97 after saying new directives from the Principal Inspectorof Mines in South Africa may have a “detrimental economiceffect” on some mines. Aquarius earlier said it plans to appealthe directive.