* Bearish news spurs profit taking after long rally
* Charges against Goldman, China property curbs rattle mkts
* Asian stocks down 2.2 pct in sharpest fall in 10 weeks
* Commodities drop as oil, copper prices fall
* Analysts say sell-off temporary; corporate earnings eyed
SYDNEY, April 19 (Reuters) - Asian stocks suffered their
biggest loss in 10 weeks on Monday after U.S. regulators filed
fraud charges against Goldman Sachs and China clamped down
harder on property speculation, giving investors an excuse to
take profits after markets had rallied to multi-month highs.
The pull-back in equities was matched by a decline in
commodity prices, while benefitting assets deemed to be less
risky. Government bond prices, the yen and the U.S. dollar all
rose.
The sell-off looked set to carry over into Europe, with
financial spreadbetters expecting Britain's FTSE 100 <>,
Germany's DAX <> and France's CAC 40 <> to open as
much as 0.7 percent.
Yet some investors and analysts thought Monday's shift was
only temporary, given expectations that stocks and commodities
were due for a pull back anyway after recent rallies.
"I don't see this as a beginning of a bear market," said
Bratin Sanyal, head of Asian equities with ING Asset Management
in Hong Kong. "The market has gone up so strongly, a bit of a
correction was overdue."
But Sanyal, who manages $2.5 billion worth of assets in
Asia outside Japan, said that did not mean Asian equities would
necessarily grind higher from here.
Asian stocks are already priced for firms to deliver strong
profits as the world economy heals. So they may drift sideways
as investors wait for those earnings to materialise. For
instance, Japan's earnings season moves into high gear next
week.
The fraud charges against Goldman weighed on regional bank
stocks [] even though most Asian banks were
nowhere near as active as their U.S. peers in the subprime
mortgage business.
The MSCI index of Asian stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> shed 2.1 percent, its sharpest daily loss since
Feb 5, and retreating further from a 22-month high hit on
Thursday.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei <> was down 1.7 percent after
breaching its closely-watched 25-day moving average.
Top Japanese bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306.T>
fell 3.1 percent, while Mizuho Financial Group <8411.T> lost
2.7 percent.
Airline and tourism stocks also fell as flights to Europe
remained grounded due to a volcanic ash cloud from Iceland.
Japan's major travel agency Kinki Nippon Tourist Co Ltd
<9726.T> lost 6.1 percent, and All Nippon Airways Co <9202.T>
fell 2.4 percent. Singapore Airlines <SIAL.SI>, the world's
second-largest carrier by market value, shed 3.6 percent.
Shanghai stocks <> fell 4.6 percent to just below
3,000 points and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index <> shed 2.3
percent after Beijing announced fresh steps over the weekend to
rein in property speculation, which policymakers fear could
lead to a destabilising asset bubble. [].
Property developers and banks were hardest hit. China Vanke
<000002.SZ>, China's second-biggest home builder, skidded 6
percent, while Minsheng Bank <600016.SS>, the most actively
traded stock on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, dropped 5.1
percent.
But traders said further declines would be limited in the
near term, predicting firm support for the Shanghai index at
the psychologically important 3,000-point level.
"Both the property clampdown and Goldman news are
short-term factors, while a full recovery of China's economy is
still on the cards, preventing the market from falling too
much," said Zheng Waigang, head of investment at Shanghai
Securities.
Worries that China may tighten policy too aggressively to
keep the economy from overheating have weighed on Chinese and
global stocks off-and-on all year.
The Shanghai stock index is down 7.8 percent this year.
Yet, data from Thomson Reuters' Starmine Professional show
Chinese stocks are still the priciest in Asia, with a price to
forward earnings of 15.7 times. Japan trades at 9.6 times.
COMMODITIES, CURRENCIES
Oil <CLc1> sank nearly 2 percent to a three-week low of
below $82 a barrel [].
Copper, which struck 20-month highs last week, also fell,
though analysts said losses merely reflected softer share
prices and did not reflect the outlook for metal demand.
[]
The retreat in equities markets boosted interest in
safe-haven government bonds. U.S. Treasuries edged up [] and
five-year Japanese yields fell below 0.5 percent to a one-month
low. []
Yields for government debt in Asian emerging markets,
deemed riskier than their developed market peers, rose as
investors use the chance to take profits after recent price
rallies. []
The yen <JPY=>, a poster child for safe currencies, rose as
far as a one-month high of 91.85, up 0.3 percent from late
trade in New York on Friday.
The U.S. dollar <.DXY> also got a boost, rising 0.4 percent
against a basket of major currencies, as investors retreated
into the safety of its liquidity.
The euro <EUR=> was soft $1.3458 <EUR=>. For the first time
in weeks, Greece's debt woes were not the focal talking point
in the market.
With a trip to Greece by European and IMF officials delayed
by the volcanic ash cloud, no major updates were expected
before Wednesday on whether Athens will be forced to ask for
aid. []
However, Greece will face a key test on Tuesday as it tries
to raise 1.5 billion euros via an auction of T-bills.
(Additional reporting by Lu Jianxin, Jason Subler in
SHANGHAI)
(Reporting by Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Kim Coghill)
