Dawn Chorus: US consumer confidence decline weighs on Asian markets

Most Asian stocks were trading lower on Monday in response to an unexpected decline in US consumer confidence which pushed down shares in raw-material producers.

The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index was little changed at 435 as of 10:39 a.m. in Hong Kong. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 0.7% and South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.1% to 21,949. Japanese markets are closed today for a holiday.

China’s stocks fluctuated as commodity producers fell on lower metal prices and developers rose after UBS and BNP Paribas raised their recommendations on property shares. Shanghai Composite Index was trading 0.3% higher at 2,607. China’s financial markets will be closed from September 22 to September 24 for a national holiday.

In company news, BHP Billiton lost 0.6% in Sydney after crude-oil futures fell 1.2% to $73.66 a barrel in New York on September 17. Woodside Petroleum, Australia’s second-largest oil and gas producer, fell 0.8%. Rio Tinto decreased 1.1%, while Posco dropped 1.6% in Seoul.

Shares inched lower after the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary September index of consumer confidence released on Friday dropped to a one-year low of 66.6 from 68.9 a month earlier.

Stock markets in the US, after ending last week on a higher note, will see the Federal Open Market Committee policy meeting on Tuesday as the turning point this week.

Investors will also get their cue from a range of housing data scheduled for this week, including the housing market index on Monday, housing starts on Tuesday, existing home sales on Thursday and new home sales on Friday.

European stock markets, after ending their two-week advance, will concentrate on a range of data due this week on manufacturing, consumer confidence and Germany's business climate, which is likely to add to evidence of a slowdown.

Investors will also focus on any comments from ECB policymakers about the outlook for the economy and policy. Jean-Claude Trichet, the ECB President, is scheduled to attend a eurozone conference in Estonia on Sunday and Monday, while ECB Executive Board member Juergen Stark will speak in Italy on Friday.