Shares of Asian exporters such as Samsung Electronics Co and Nissan Motor Co declined yesterday after a US government report showed the world's biggest economy added fewer jobs in November than some economists had expected.

　　"The US job figure was quite weak, causing some investors to take a step back," said Masaki Iso, head of Japanese equities at Yasuda Asset Management Co in Tokyo.

　　Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.8 percent to 10,981.96, after gaining 2.2 percent last week, at the close in Tokyo. South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.3 percent to 870.75.

　　The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index, which tracks more than 900 companies in the region, fell 0.2 percent to 97.97.

　　Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd and Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc led gains by financial stocks. Credit Suisse First Boston recommended investors buy shares of Australian lenders and Goldman, Sachs & Co raised its rating on Mitsui Trust, Japan's seventh-largest bank.

　　Singapore's Straits Times Index dropped 1.4 percent, its biggest decline since May and the biggest in the region yesterday. DBS Group Holdings Ltd fell after the lender said it has some credit exposure to China Aviation Holdings (Singapore) Corp, which last week reported a US$550 million trading loss.

　　Stock benchmarks in Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia declined, while those in Australia, Taiwan, New Zealand, Hong Kong and India advanced. They were little changed in Chinese mainland. Thailand's market was closed for a holiday.

　　Companies that rely on US demand declined on concern that slowing job growth in the United States will dent consumer spending in Asia's biggest trading partner.

　　US payrolls rose 112,000 last month, the labor department said last Friday, less than all 75 economists' estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. The median forecast was for 200,000.

　　Nissan, Japan's second-biggest automaker based on auto sales, dropped 2 percent to 1,081 yen (US$10.57). The automaker relies on North America for as much as 61 percent of its operating profit, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

　　Samsung Electronics, South Korea's biggest exporter, lost 1.9 percent to 418,000 won (US$402).

　　In Taiwan, AU Optronics Corp, the world's third-largest maker of liquid-crystal displays for televisions, fell 0.7 percent to 42.40 New Taiwan dollars (US$1.32). Hong Kong's Li & Fung Ltd, which buys Asian-made clothing for US clients including Abercrombie & Fitch Co, slid 1.9 percent to 13.00 Hong Kong dollars (US$1.67).

　　Exporters in South Korea and Japan also declined after the dollar slumped against the won and the yen, fueling concerns that stronger local currencies will lower the value of dollar-denominated sales.

　　The dollar weakened after US Treasury Secretary John Snow suggested in an interview last Friday that he won't stand in the way of a declining dollar.

　　The won soared as high as 1,037.40, the strongest since November 19, 1997, and rose to 1,040.90 against the dollar yesterday evening in Seoul. The yen recently traded at 102.45 a dollar. Last week, it traded as high as 101.83, the strongest since January 2000.

　　"The rise in the won is a bit excessive," said Kim Yung Min, a strategist at Dongwon Investment Trust Management Co in Seoul. "This is bad for exporters."

　　Toyota Motor Corp, the world's biggest automaker by market value, lost 1.8 percent to 3,830 yen. Toyota's annual operating profit drops about 20 billion yen for every 1 yen gain against the dollar, according to an estimate by Credit Suisse First Boston Japan Inc.

　　LG Electronics Inc, South Korea's second-biggest electronics maker, dropped 3.3 percent to 63,800 won. The company's exports account for more than 60 percent of sales.

　　Australia & New Zealand Bank, the third-biggest Australian lender, rose 0.9 percent to 20.15 Australia dollars (US$15.65). Westpac Banking Corp, the fourth largest, climbed 0.6 percent to A$18.47.

　　(Bloomberg News)