May 13 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks dropped for a fifth day, with the Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index set for its longest losing streak in four months. BHP Billiton and PetroChina Co. fell after prices of copper and oil declined.

``The possible impact on earnings at resource companies is scaring away some investors,'' said Yoshihisa Okamoto, who helps manage $2.1 billion in assets at Fuji Investment Management Co. in Tokyo. Okamoto said he prefers property stocks.

The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index, which tracks 945 stocks, lost 0.5 percent to 97.22 at 12:15 p.m. in Tokyo, and is headed for its longest slump since the period ended Jan. 7. The index has tumbled 2.3 percent this week. Other indexes around the region also dropped, except in Taiwan, Thailand and China.

Sony Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. led gains by technology companies after Dell Inc., the world's largest maker of personal computers, predicted better-than-expected earnings this quarter. Quanta Computer Inc., the world's biggest notebook computer maker, advanced.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 0.2 percent to 11,059.30, set for its fourth weekly loss in five. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.7 percent, its first drop in three days.

Shares of KDDI Corp. and Singapore's Want Want Holdings Ltd. rose after Morgan Stanley Capital International Inc. included them among the 113 Asian additions to its global indexes.

The MSCI Asia-Pacific Materials Index was the regional index's second-worst performing industry group today, dropping 1.3 percent. The energy index, the worst, slid 1.9 percent. The Commodities Research Bureau/Reuters Index had its biggest slide since March 23 after copper prices had the biggest one-day drop in four months and oil fell to a three-month low.

`Big Red Flag'

Slumping commodity prices also pushed down U.S. stocks. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index 500 lost 1 percent, with oil- related stocks accounting for more than a third of the drop.

Melbourne-based BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company, fell 2.1 percent to A$15.95, set for its lowest close in almost four months. Rio Tinto Group, the third largest, slid 1.7 percent to A$42.46.

``A big red flag for me personally is when my younger sister calls to inform me of an investment that `cannot lose.' Recently her call came touting commodities,'' said Kirby Daley, a strategist at Societe Generale Securities' Fimat unit in Tokyo. ``No market moves one way forever and there has been quite a bit of hype on commodities over the past 12 months.''

Copper prices in New York yesterday fell 4.6 percent to $1.376 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. That's the lowest closing price for a most-active contract since Feb. 4.

PetroChina, S-Oil

Nippon Mining Holdings Inc., the country's biggest copper producer, slumped 1.6 percent to 608 yen. The company earlier this week forecast profit growth will slow this year, attributed in part to an expected decline in copper prices. Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Japan's third-largest copper producer, slid 1.9 percent to 716 yen.

PetroChina, Asia's biggest oil company, declined 1.5 percent to HK$4.80. AOC Holdings Inc., a Japanese oil producer and refiner, dropped 2.3 percent to 1,427 yen.

S-Oil Corp., South Korea's third-largest oil refiner, slumped 3.2 percent to 73,400 won. SK Corp., the largest, fell 2.9 percent to 54,300 won.

Crude oil for June delivery yesterday dropped 3.8 percent to $48.54, the lowest close since Feb. 18, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have fallen 17 percent since reaching a record $58.28 on April 4.

Pressure

Santos Ltd., Australia's third-largest oil and gas company, tumbled 2.5 percent to A$9.53. Woodside Petroleum Ltd., the country's second-largest, slumped 3.2 percent to A$23.27.

``There will be some pressure on the oil producers and the other commodity plays,'' said Steven Leung, director of institutional sales at UOB-Kay Hian Ltd. in Hong Kong. ``The market's been struggling.''

Round Rock, Texas-based Dell yesterday said revenue and profit this quarter may beat analysts' estimates, after first- quarter profit rose 28 percent to $934 million. Chief Executive Kevin Rollins has forecast $60 billion of sales this year.

``Across the region, we grew 27 percent,'' William Amelio, Dell's senior vice president for the Asia-Pacific region, said today. ``That was a really stellar performance.''

Japan's Sony, maker of the Vaio computer, added 1.3 percent to 4,000 yen, snapping a four-day, 2.2 percent losing streak. Samsung Electronics, the world's largest maker of computer memory chips, rose 1.1 percent to 480,000 won. Quanta Computer surged 2.9 percent to NT$56.50.

MSCI

KDDI, Japan's second-largest mobile-phone operator, surged 4.1 percent to 509,000 yen. South Korea's Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. advanced 2 percent to 62,500 won.

The MSCI will add 278 securities to its global indexes following an annual review. Asian companies accounted for two- fifths of the additions worldwide. The changes will take effect at the close of trading on May 31 and will likely prompt an estimated $3 trillion in funds tracking MSCI's indexes to mimic the additions and deletions.

Want Want, a maker of rice crackers and sweets, jumped 7.2 percent to $1.04 in Singapore.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chen Shiyin in Singapore at schen37@bloomberg.net; Tomoko Yamazaki in Tokyo at tyamazaki@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 12, 2005 23:21 EDT