Equities fall on China's refusal to bail out Europe

Nikkei: 8,518.57 (–97.98) Hang Seng: 19,045.44 (+14.90) Shanghai Comp: 2,484.82 (+13.52)

ASIAN STOCKS fell yesterday after the Chinese premier said economies “must put their own houses in order” and not rely on bailouts from China.

“The Chinese premier’s comments sounded sensible to me,” said Prasad Patkar, who helps manage about $1.1 billion at Platypus Asset Management in Sydney, “but investors at this time seem to want instant gratification. This stance by the Chinese clearly won’t provide that.”

Esprit, a retailer that gets most of its revenue from Europe, dropped 1.9 per cent to HK$18.30, its lowest close since August 2003.

Samsung Electronics dropped 3.5 per cent to 753,000 won. Apple won backing from a German court for a ban on sales of Samsung’s Galaxy 10.1 tablet computer in the country.

China Overseas Land and Investment, a developer controlled by the nation’s construction ministry, fell 3.6 per cent to HK$13.78 on concern of reduced property sales.

China Resources Land dropped 6 per cent to HK$10.40, while Evergrande Real Estate, a developer based in the southern city of Guangzhou, lost 6.2 per cent to HK$3.50. – (Bloomberg)