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Monday's Asia Stocks Recap

Stockpickr Staff

Updated from 7:00 p.m. EDT

Echoes of "Black Monday" were heard in India after stock market bears pushed the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index lower by 950 points, or 6%, to 14,809.49 -- its second biggest single-day decline. India's major stock index slid below the 15,000 level for the first time since Aug. 29, 2007, as market players digested the Bear Stearns (BSC Quote - Cramer on BSC - Stock Picks) debacle and the Federal Reserve's emergency cut to the discount rate by a quarter percentage point to 3.25%.

"Indian stock markets are taking cues from the U.S. and Asian markets, even though the subprime mortgage crisis has only moderately affected flow of funds into the country," said Finance Minster Palaniappan Chidambaram.

Indian stocks weren't helped by a plea to global investors from Credit Suisse analysts Nilesh Jasani and Arya Sen to stay underweight India. The analysts said in a note to clients, "Fundamental growth is linked to the world events. The links are less due to trade which is well recognized but they are quite strong due to funding gaps and commodity dependence."

Indian bank ADRs like Icici Bank (IBN Quote - Cramer on IBN - Stock Picks) and HDFC Bank (HDB Quote - Cramer on HDB - Stock Picks) were the victims of relentless selling Monday. Far East investors are worried that the subprime crisis and exposure to risky market derivatives could continue to batter shares of Indian banks.

"Banking shares collapsed on Bear Stearns news and investors are not able to gauge whether the credit crisis is nearing an end or it is a new beginning of the problems," said Trinadh Kiran, at New Delhi-based Unicon Investment Solutions.

Some analysts believe the exposure of Indian banks to the credit crisis is overblown by the media, but investors are dumping shares and asking questions later. ADR shares of Icici plummeted 12% to $35.16, and shares of HDFC declined 7% to $88.06.

Indian communication companies were some of the few stocks to close in the green Monday. ADR shares of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTE Quote - Cramer on MTE - Stock Picks) finished up 1% at $4.85, and Tata Communications (TCL Quote - Cramer on TCL - Stock Picks) closed up 1.5% to $23.50.

Indian ADRs that were among the big losers were Rediff.com India (REDF Quote - Cramer on REDF - Stock Picks), losing 6% to $6.65; Satyam Computer (SAY Quote - Cramer on SAY - Stock Picks), closing off 5% at $20.94; and Sterlite Industries India (SLT Quote - Cramer on SLT - Stock Picks), trading off 3.6% to $18.26.

Be sure to check out the Far East Portfolio at Stockpickr.com every night to find out which stocks in India and China are making big moves and announcing major news.

China Recap

Asian markets plunged Monday on news that Wall Street's firth largest investment bank, Bear Stearns, would have to sell the company for a fire-sale price of $2 a share to JPMorgan Chase (JPM Quote - Cramer on JPM - Stock Picks), or face bankruptcy from a liquidity crunch.

Investors in the China took the Bear Stearns news hard as market players fear the subprime crisis is far from over and could eventually hit some of their financial institutions.

"It's very much like a black hole. We don't know what more is out there, or the extent of the damage. It's scary and depressing," said Patrick Chang, who helps manage $4.5 billion at CIMB-Principal Asset Management in Kuala Lumpur. China's Shanghai Composite Index shed 142.63 points, or 3.6%, to 3,820.05, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index crashed 1,152.50 points, or 5.2%, to 21,084.61.

Credit Suisse reduced its price target for Chinese medical device maker Mindray Medical International (MR Quote - Cramer on MR - Stock Picks) from $46 to $42. Analyst J Du kept his outperform rating on the stock but cut his EPS estimates for 2008 by 26%. Du cited integration risks and margin concerns over Mindray Medical's acquisition of Datascope as reasons for his price target and estimate cuts. ADR shares of Mindray traded down by 4% to $26.08.

Chinese aluminum producer Chalco (ACH Quote - Cramer on ACH - Stock Picks) reported a 13.5% decline in net profits for 2007 to 10.24 billion yuan, vs. 11.84 billion yuan for 2006 and earnings per share of 0.82 yuan, vs. 1.04 yuan for the previous year. The company blamed the drop in earnings on falling prices for aluminum products and higher production costs.

Chalco also announced it will bid up to $590 million to buy production assets from state-owned parent Chinalco. ADR shares of Chalco fell 2.6% to $38.73.

In the technology sector, Chinese search engine giant Baidu.com (BIDU Quote - Cramer on BIDU - Stock Picks) was the target of some bullish comments from Piper Jaffray. Jaffray said it will keep its buy rating and $430 price target on the stock, citing improved search result quality and customer service. The firm also noted that it expects Baidu to generate measurable revenue sometime in 2009. ADR shares of BIDU weren't helped by Jaffray's comments, as they fell a sharp 7.8% to $247.10.

Chinese advertising firm Focus Media Holding (FMCN Quote - Cramer on FMCN - Stock Picks) plunged 26% after a report from the Beijing Morning Post said 80% of SMS spam messages are sent by Focus Media's subsidiary Focus Wireless. Rumors also swirled that Focus Wireless had its service provider qualification revoked by the government and the firm is in jeopardy of losing its wireless business. Company insiders denied the rumor, but judging by the stock price action the market isn't buying the denial. Focus Media investors will be looking for answer to this situation on Tuesday when the firm is set to report earnings. ADR shares of Focus Media lost $11.66, to $32.19.

Shanghai-based fabless semiconductor manufacturer Spreadtrum Communications (SPRD Quote - Cramer on SPRD - Stock Picks) announced its board of directors has approved a $20 million buyback program for its ADR shares. Spreadtrum fell 3.8% to $6.91.

Some large declines among the Chinese ADRs were seen in China GrenTech Corp (GRRF Quote - Cramer on GRRF - Stock Picks), losing 14% to $4.28; E-House (EJ Quote - Cramer on EJ - Stock Picks), dropping 14% to $11.33; Perfect World (PWRD Quote - Cramer on PWRD - Stock Picks), falling 10% to $22.52; and China Natural Resources (CHNR Quote - Cramer on CHNR - Stock Picks), finishing lower by 8.8% to $17.23.

Be sure to check out the Far East Portfolio at Stockpickr.com every night to find out which stocks in India and China are making big moves and announcing major news.

For more on Asia, check out Daniel Harrison's coverage at TheStreet.com.