Asian Stocks Outside Japan Drop From Seven-Year High Before Fed

Asian shares outside Japan declined from a seven-year high as investors weighed company profits and awaited the outcome of a two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting.
Wynn Macau Ltd. slumped 7.6 percent in Hong Kong after the casino operator’s earnings missed analyst estimates as China’s anti-corruption campaign curbed gaming revenue. Anhui Conch Cement Co. slid 3.6 percent after the mainland’s largest cement maker’s first-quarter net income slumped 31 percent. Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. dropped 5.2 percent in Seoul after the shipbuilder reported a bigger-than-expected loss.
The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index sank 1 percent to 519.64 as of 4:05 p.m. in Hong Kong after closing Tuesday at the highest since January 2008. The measure is heading for a 7 percent advance in April, the most since January 2012. About 200 companies on the gauge report results this week, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“Poorer earnings provide some investors an excuse to take profit given the strong run up that we’ve seen in the market in the last few weeks,” Jason Low, equity strategist at DBS Wealth Management & Private Bank in Singapore, said by phone. “Investors are still quite bullish and are probably waiting to buy on dips. Fed policy moves have been partially priced in. Yellen will probably only raise rates when she thinks the U.S. economy can withstand that eventual rate hike.”