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(Bloomberg) — Most Asian index futures signaled a return to losses for the region’s stocks, with crude oil near an almost three-week low amid concerns over a global glut and after drugmakers drove declines in U.S. equities.
Futures on stock gauges from Japan to South Korea dropped after speculation over the outlook for Japanese stimulus fueled gains in the regional benchmark on Wednesday. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures rose after a short-seller takedown of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. roiled health-care stocks, dragging the index lower last session. Anxiety over global demand is hobbling commodities, with U.S. oil below $46 a barrel and gold holding losses following its steepest slump this month.

“I’m finding it hard to get bullish especially after the run up we’ve had,” Mark Lister, head of private wealth research at Craigs Investment Partners Ltd. in Wellington, which manages about $7.2 billion, said by phone. “I see more risks than opportunities. I’m pretty cautious on China and the emerging world and there’s more to come there in terms of pain and volatility.”
Global equities have fallen every day this week after a report out of China Monday showed Asia’s largest economy grew last quarter at the weakest pace since the financial crisis. The potential for a China-driven slowdown worldwide is focusing attention on central banks, with Europe’s to meet Thursday amid speculation over how it will handle stimulus going forward. The saga surrounding Valeant obscured what was a better-than- expected round of blue-chip earnings in the U.S., where results until now have been pretty mixed.
Stocks

The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.3 percent by 10:05 a.m. in Sydney, dropping for the second time this week, while New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index, the first major gauge to start trading each day in the Asia-Pacific region, was up 0.1 percent.

Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average were bid for 18,450 in the Osaka pre-market, down from 18,540 at their close Wednesday. Yen-denominated contracts rose 0.1 percent in Chicago, after gaining 1.2 percent in the previous session. Japan’s currency, which typically moves at odds with local shares, was little changed for a second day, at 119.90 per dollar. Futures on the Kospi index in Seoul dropped 0.2 percent.

S&P 500 futures added 0.1 percent to 2,010.25, after the U.S. benchmark slipped 0.6 percent in a second day of losses Wednesday.
Valeant endeddown 19 percent at its lowest closing price since October 2014 after Citron Research, a stock commentary firm founded by Andrew Left, published a report examining a specialty pharmacy the company uses to facilitate drug sales to patients. Laval, Canada-based Valeant trimmed the losses after it refuted the report and after it was revealed that billionaire William Ackman had bought 2 million shares. The S&P 500 Health Care Sector Index lost 0.9 percent.

Markets in Hong Kong resume trading Thursday following a holiday, while India is closed. Futures on the FTSE China A50 Index rose 0.3 percent in most recent trading, following a 3.1 percent slide in Shanghai stocks last session. The biggest U.S. exchange-traded fund tracking Chinese equities slumped 4.6 percent Wednesday, the most since Sept. 14, on speculation a recent rally in Chinese markets was excessive.

–With assistance from Jeremy Herron in New York.

To contact the reporters on this story: Emma O’Brien in Wellington at eobrien6@bloomberg.net; Adam Haigh in Sydney at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Emma O’Brien at eobrien6@bloomberg.net John McCluskey