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By Rafael Nam
HONG KONG, March 31 (Reuters) - Asian shares fell on
Monday, heading for their worst quarterly performance in over
five years, on persistent concerns about the global credit
crunch and the impact of weakening U.S. consumer demand on the
region's exports.
Oil prices, among the top performing asset classes so far
this year, extended falls from the previous session after the
restart of a crude pipeline system in Iraq eased concerns over
supply.
A choppy dollar kept other commodity prices steady,
following a quarter in which a slumping U.S. currency has sent
the prices of asset classes such as gold to record highs.
"With the possibility of further writedowns and profit
warnings, you're seeing investors more cautious about the
financials and moving into more defensive sectors," said
Savanth Sebastian, equities economist at CommSec in Australia.
The MSCI's measure of Asian stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> fell 0.5 percent by 0205 GMT.
Asian equity markets have had a tough quarter amid the
prospects of a looming U.S. recession and a worsening global
financial credit crisis that has led to billions of dollars in
writedowns in the financial sector.
The MSCI's index has fallen 13.6 percent so far this year,
its worst performance since the quarter ended in September
2002.
These same concerns continued to hit Asian shares in the
last day of the quarter after U.S. department store operator
J.C. Penney Co Inc <JCP.N> on Friday cut its first-quarter
earnings forecast -- setting up doubts about the health of U.S.
consumer demand. []
Worries about the health of the financial sector also
continued after Oppenheimer & Co analyst Meredith Whitney said
U.S. banks including Citigroup <C.N> are likely to announce
dividend cuts in April. []
Tokyo shares <.T> fell 1.5 percent amid caution ahead of
key domestic economic data this week, while Shanghai's <>
benchmark index also fell 1.5 percent after rumours last week
that the government would announce market-friendly steps failed
to materialise.
Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp <8002.T> plunged 6.2
percent after Lehman Brothers <LEH.N> said it would sue the
company over what it said was a fraud by Marubeni employees. A
source said Lehman had been fleeced for more than $355 million
in the scam. []
Shares in Taiwan <> and Hong Kong <> fell more
than 1 percent, while indexes in South Korea <> and
Australia <> were down less than 1 percent each.
OIL FALLS
U.S. crude for May delivery <CLc1> fell $1.03 cents to
$104.59 a barrel, after already dropping about $2 on Friday,
after Iraq restarted a crude supply pipeline system eased fears
of an extended export disruption from the country's oil-rich
south.
Oil prices hit a record high of $111.80 in mid-March as
prices have surged as a slumping U.S. dollar, and as investors
have sought a hedge against rising inflationary pressures.
Gold, which has also hit records this quarter, was steadier
at $931.90 an ounce, virtually unchanged from late U.S. trade
on Friday.
The dollar experienced choppy trade against the yen on
Monday, as Japanese importers' demand for the U.S. currency was
offset by concerns over the U.S. economy.
The greenback rose to 99.60 <JPY=> from around 99.30 yen in
late U.S. trade on Friday, after falling as low as 98.80
earlier in the session on electronic trading platform EBS.
(Editing by Lincoln Feast)
