Japanese Stock Futures Fall as Euro Near 11-Year Low Against Yen

Japanese stock (MXAP) futures (TPX) dropped asthe euro traded near an 11-year low against the yen and a reportshowed German industrial production fell, adding to signs thedebt crisis may drag Europe into a recession.

American depositary receipts of Canon Inc. (7751), Japan��s biggestcamera maker that generates about one-third of its revenue inEurope, fell 0.5 percent from the closing share price in Tokyo.Those of Mitsubishi Corp. (8058), a Japanese trading company, slid 0.9percent after oil dropped. Pacific Brands Ltd. led Australianstocks higher after the nation��s biggest clothing maker said itwas discussing a buyout offer by New York-based KKR & Co.

Futures on Japan��s Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKY) expiring inMarch were bid in the pre-market at 8,360 in Osaka at 8:05 a.m.local time compared with 8,390 in Osaka on Jan. 6. Japan��s stockmarket was closed for a public holiday yesterday. Australia��sS&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.7 percent today. New Zealand��s NZX 50Index lost 0.3 percent in Wellington.

��The euro is likely to be in a downtrend while Europerelies on lending by the European Central Bank�� to shore up itseconomy, said Koichi Kurose, chief economist in Tokyo at ResonaBank Ltd., which oversees the equivalent of $68 billion. ��Thatwill weigh on Japanese equities.��

Futures on the Standard & Poor��s 500 Index (SPXL1) were littlechanged today. The index added 0.2 percent in New York yesterdayas European leaders discussed shoring up the region��s currencyand investors awaited the start of the fourth-quarter earningsseason.

German Production

German industrial production fell 0.6 percent in Novemberafter adding 0.8 percent in October, a report showed. The eurotouched 97.28 yen yesterday, the lowest level since December2000.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) gained 0.7 percent this yearthrough yesterday, compared with a 1.8 percent increase by theS&P 500 and a 0.8 percent gain by the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.Stocks in the Asian benchma! rk are v alued at 12 times estimatedearnings on average, compared with 12.2 times for the S&P 500and 9.8 times for the Stoxx 600.

Chinese stocks traded in the U.S. rose, led by Yanzhou CoalMining Co. and Mindray Medical International Ltd., onspeculation looser lending conditions may boost companyearnings. The Bloomberg China-US 55 Index advanced 1.2 percentto 99.75 as trading closed in New York, taking its increase thisyear to 4.1 percent.

Oil for February delivery fell 25 cents to $101.31 a barrelon the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement of2012.