Asian Stocks Dropped. Commodities Slighty Up

Aug. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell, led by financial companies, after developer Urban Corp. filed for bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch & Co. said the credit crisis is far from over. Commodity producers gained after oil and metal prices rose.
You've got Europe slowing, Japan slowing, and a question mark over China. Something has to give.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.4 percent to 125.75 at 5:35 p.m. in Tokyo, a third day of declines and the lowest close since September 2006. The gauge has slumped 20 percent this year as inflation accelerated, growth slowed and global financial companies posted writedowns and credit losses of more than $500 billion.

Metals & Oil:
A measure of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange rose 3.2 percent yesterday, its largest gain since March 27. Crude oil for September delivery advanced 2.7 percent to $116 a barrel, the largest gain since July 30, and futures climbed as much as 0.8 percent to $116.94 today.
The rally in commodity prices coincided with a rebound in the Baltic Dry Index, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=BDIY%3AIND which tracks transport costs of raw commodities on international trade routes. The gauge gained 1.5 percent yesterday, ending a 23-day, 25 percent slump.
Measures tracking materials companies and shipping lines on MSCI's Asian index have dropped 12 percent and 8.4 percent respectively in the past month, the worst performances among the broader measure's 10 industry groups.
Longer-Term Outlook:
``Global growth may have slowed, but it hasn't stopped, which is why people are looking to pick up oversold commodities shares and shippers on their longer-term outlook,'' said Hideyuki Ookoshi, who helps oversee $365 million at Chiba- Gin Asset Management Co.