MUMBAI (MarketWatch) ? Asian shares fell sharply Tuesday, with steel makers among the top decliners, following global peers lower on growth concerns.
Hong Kong?s Hang Seng Index HK:HSI ?lost 2.2%, the Shanghai Composite Index CN:000001 fell 1.4%, and Japan?s Nikkei Stock Average JP:NIK ?ended 0.6% lower.
South Korea?s Kospi KR:0100 ?dropped 0.8%, and Australia?s S&P/ASX 200 index AU:XJO ?closed with a 1.4% loss.
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Stocks slip on growth data
Stocks bounce back from morning losses but still end the day lower amid concerns about slowing global economic growth.
U.S. shares had ended the day with small losses Monday, with investors taking their first chance to react to China?s cut to its 2012 growth estimate. Read more on Chinese GDP target.
Data out later Monday weren?t inspiring, with a gauge of euro-zone business activity falling into contraction territory in February. Read more on European PMI.
U.S. data showed a better-than-expected reading for the Institute for Supply Management?s non-manufacturing index, but orders to U.S. factories declined in January for the first time in three mo! nths. Read more on factory orders.
Monday?s U.S. numbers were just the start for this week?s data-heavy calendar, which culminates with U.S. nonfarm jobs data on Friday.
?I think that people are focusing very heavily on what?s going to happen with the U.S. jobs number on Friday. Up until now we?ve been mostly worried about Greece and oil, and this is the third man at the party,? said Andrew Sullivan, a strategist at Piper Jaffray.
As for the cut to China?s GDP forecast, Sullivan said: ?I think some were slightly hopeful that [China] was going to maintain with 8% growth ? being the lucky number. That would mean that we would have got more stimulus.?
With global growth back under the spotlight, commodity-linked firms weakened in Asian trading, after many key resource prices moved lower overnight.
In Australia, BHP Billiton Ltd. AU:BHP ? BHP ?and Rio Tinto Ltd. AU:RIO ? RIO ?lost 2.3% apiece.
Japanese oil majors declined, with JX Holdings Inc.JP:5020 ? JXHGF ?down 1.2%, and Inpex Corp. JP:1605 ?IPXHY ?lower by 0.9%.
In Hong Kong, Aluminium Corp. of China Ltd. HK:2600 ? ACH ?fell 5.3%, while Jiangxi Copper Co. HK:358 ? JIXAY ?lost 4.8% and PetroChina Co. HK:857 ?PTR ?fell 2.3%.
Molten steel stocks
The cut in China?s economic outlook and indications the nation will scale back infrastructure spending weighed on steel makers across the globe, with U.S. Steel Corp. X ?ending down 4.7% in New York, and ArcelorMittal SA NL:MT ?MT ?dropping 3.8% in Europe on Monday.
?If you believe there?s going to be a slowdown in China, and that they are maintaining all their tough policies on property, then there?s going to be less requirement for steel construction,? said Piper Jaffray?s Sullivan.
?Certainly with non-construction steel, specialist steels and the marine-type steels, the other thing to bear in mind there is that...if China is slowing down, there?s going to be less need for shipping as they are going to importing and exporting less.?!
Asia-Pacific steel firms under pressure included OneSteel Ltd AU:OST ?OSTLF , down 3.4% in Australia, while in Seoul, Posco PKX ?shares were down 3.4% and Hyundai Steel Co. HYNSY lost 1.8%.
Japanese steel maker Kobe Steel Ltd. JP:5406 ?KBSTF fell 3.8% after the firm said that it won?t pay a term-end dividend due to challenging trading conditions. Rival JFE Holdings Inc. JP:5411 ?JFEEF ?declined 3.1%, and over in Hong Kong, Angang Steel Co.HK:347 ? ANGGF ?fell 7.6%.
Shares exposed to global trade also suffered Tuesday. Hong Kong-listed ports operator Cosco Pacific Ltd. CSPKY ?fell 5.1%, while Seoul-listed shipping firm STX Pan Ocean Co. lost 4.6%.
Among Japanese shippers, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. JP:9104 ? MSLOY ? dropped 2.8%, while Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. JP:9107 ?KAIKY ?fell 3.8%, and Nippon Yusen K.K. JP:9101 ?NPNYY ?dropped 2.5%.
Back in Hong Kong, AIA Group Ltd. HK:1299 ?AAIGF ?tumbled 8.4% as shares resumed trading after news that American International Group Inc. AIG ?had sold off shares in the insurer. See report on AIG sale of AIA shares.
Other Hong-Kong listed insurance firms were also under pressure, with Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. PNGAY ? HK:2318 ?and China Life Insurance Co. LFC ? HK:2628 ?both down 3.7%.
Mazda Motor Corp.JP:7261 ? MZDAF ?climbed 2.! 3% after the firm set the price late Monday for a share offering that?s expected to raise $1.8 billion.
