Air stable (cyclopentadienyl)Mo(NO)(halide)(eta3-allyl) complexes add to aldehydes to yield homoallylic alcohols in high enantioselectivity and diastereoselectivity. A new strategy, chiral poisoning, is applied to asymmetric hydrogenation and the kinetic resolution of allylic alcohols using transition metal catalysts prepared from racemic bis-phosphine ligands.