Asian Stocks Cap Second Annual Decline Amid Rout in Commodities
This article is for subscribers only.
Asian stocks posted their first back-to-back annual declines since 2002, underperforming benchmarks in Europe and the U.S. amid decelerating Chinese growth and the rout in commodities.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has fallen 4.3 percent this year, compared with a 0.2 percent advance for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and a 7 percent increase for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. The gauge was little changed in light trading on the final day of the year, rising 0.1 percent to 131.94 as of 12:48 p.m. in London, as energy shares followed a decline in crude oil.