Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s second-biggest maker of mobile phones by sales, fell 2 percent in Seoul after retail sales in Europe fell more than estimated last month. James Hardie Industries SE (JHX), a building materials supplier that gets about 68 percent of sales from the U.S., slid 1.5 percent. David Jones Ltd. led Australian retailers lower after the nation’s retail sales unexpectedly stalled.

“An improving U.S. economy doesn’t necessarily mean we’re firmly in a recovery,” said Lee King Fuei, a Singapore-based fund manager at Schroders Plc, which oversees about $326 billion of assets globally. “The question is how sustainable that will be. Europe remains a risk. We’ll probably see more pain before we see a resolution.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Excluding Japan Index (MXAPJ) lost 0.6 percent to 393.84 as of 8:56 a.m. in Hong Kong, with more than six stocks falling for each that rose. The measure gained 0.9 percent last week as manufacturing growth from the U.S., Australia, China and India added to signs the global economy may withstand Europe’s debt crisis.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index (AS51) lost 0.3 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi Index declined 1.5 percent. Japanese markets are closed today for a holiday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Burgos in Singapore at jburgos4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-09/asian-stocks-decline-a-third-day-as-bullard-says-new-fed-buying-unlikely.html

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