ASIA MARKETS: Asia Stocks Fall As China Meeting Disappoints

By Daniel Inman

Asian stocks moved lower after China's leaders failed to provide a clear direction on policy over the coming decade, while the Nikkei's strong upward streak in the last two sessions came to a halt.

Stocks in China in particular reacted badly to Tuesday's conclusion of the Third Plenum - a four day meeting that will set the course for the world's second-largest economy for the coming ten years. The communique that followed the meeting called for fewer investment restrictions and greater rights for farmers, but was lacking in specific details.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.3%, with Chinese companies listed in the city falling sharply -- the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index dropped 1.9%. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.8% in the mainland.

China economic data have picked up in recent months, relieving concerns over a slowdown earlier in the year. The Third Plenum was important because it gave an opportunity for the new government to present a plan on how it would reshape the economy in order to achieve sustainable growth. The negative market reaction points toward dissatisfaction over the lack of details after the meeting.

More broadly, the U.S. provided Asia with a negative lead as investors digested conflicting comments from two Federal Reserve presidents over when the central bank may move to start reducing its bond buying.

 
   Australia's S&P ASX 200   fell 0.5% and South Korea's Kospi   lost 0.8%. 
 

Japan's Nikkei was down 0.3% after a 3.6% gain over the past two sessions -- the market's largest two-day rise since early September. The move higher in stocks was encouraged by a weakening of the yen, which started to fall at the end of last week after a strong U.S. October labor report gave the dollar some upward momentum.

After weakening towards the Yen100 to the dollar mark in the past few days, the yen (USDJPY) strengthened in Asia -- last at Yen99.51 compared with Yen99.63 late Tuesday in New York.

Salary data weighed on Australia after local wages, excluding bonuses, rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in the quarter that ended in September -- lower than a 0.7% consensus. The Australian dollar dipped as low as 92.83 U.S. cents but bounced back to 93.02 U.S.

The regional earnings season continues. In Tokyo, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFJY) rose 1.5% after the bank raised its full-year net profit forecast to Yen750 billion from Yen580 billion.

Also in Japan, Isuzu Motors (ISUZY) fell 0.5% after the motor-vehicle maker cut its full-year sales guidance for fiscal year 2013 by Yen100 billion, though it kept its operating profit forecast of Yen180 billion unchanged.

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