Taipei Times
Date: May 15, 2016
By: Bloomberg and staff writer, with CNA

Asian stocks fell, with the regional benchmark index dipping to a one-month low, as a drop in oil dragged down commodity shares and earnings from Inpex Corp to Mitsubishi Materials Corp disappointed investors.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 1.4 percent to 125.74 in Hong Kong, falling 1.1 percent from last week and posting its third week of losses.

Bullish momentum in equities from a February low faltered over the past month, as signs of weakness in the global economy and disappointing corporate earnings heightened concerns over whether central bank officials would be able to effectively boost growth.

“After the rally in March and April, things are still looking a little bit uncertain,” said Oliver Lee (李健生), investment director at Old Mutual Global Investors (Asia Pacific) Ltd. “There’s not much conviction in the market. The market is still being driven by central bank sentiment and currency movements. The earnings season in Japan hasn’t been great.”     [FULL  STORY]