Airlines under pressure as fuel costs rocket

Nikkei:10,505.02 (–188.64) Hang Seng:23,313.19 (–95.67) Shanghai Comp:2,996.97 (+54.67)

ASIAN STOCKS fell yesterday, as the deepening conflict in Libya pushed oil prices higher, perpetuating worries about the threat posed to the global economic recovery.

With crude oil prices at a 2½-year high, airline shares were back under pressure. Qantas Airways fell 1.7 per cent to A$2.28. Korean Air was 3.1 per cent weaker at Won61,600. China Eastern Airways fell 1.7 per cent to HK$3.40.

However, oil and energy producers benefited, with PetroChina adding 0.4 per cent to HK$10.9. Shenhua Energy jumped 10 per cent in Shanghai to Rmb28.37.

In Tokyo, exporters led the market’s decline, with Canon down 2.4 per cent to ¥3,840 and Sony off 1.8 per cent to ¥2,926.0.

BHP Billiton shed 2 per cent to A$46.3. Rio Tinto lost 1.6 per cent to A$84.15 on profit-taking in Sydney.

in China, however, Gree Electric Appliances, a maker of home air-conditioners, rallied 4.6 per cent to Rmb22.59. Angang Steel, a Chinese steelmaker, fell 3.6 per cent to HK$10.30 after BNP Paribas cut its rating. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011)