Asian stocks extended a February slump after Morgan Stanley recommended investors cut holdings in Japanese and emerging-market equities. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. dropped.
“Investors are concerned that shares have gotten too expensive and there’s no reason to buy into the market at these prices,” said Koji Uchida at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. in Tokyo.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index slid 0.2 percent, and South Korea’s Kospi index lost 0.7 percent. Indexes also fell in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Thailand. They rose elsewhere, with India’s main index closing above 10,000 for the first time.
The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific index, which is calculated by converting local currency share prices into U.S. dollars, rose 0.4 percent.
Also down: Losses among energy companies dragged down European stocks as oil prices fell and BP PLC’s earnings missed estimates.
The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index lost 0.3 percent, with 12 of 18 industry groups declining. The Euro Stoxx 50, a benchmark for the 12 countries using the euro, declined 0.1 percent, with the drop limited by telephone companies.
“BP results are a clear negative,” said Jan Leroy at Petercam Asset Management in Brussels. It shows oil stocks “are vulnerable. Investors are taking profit.”
