Asian stocks fell, with a regional benchmark index dropping from a three-month high, ahead of a European summit on the region’s debt crisis and after the U.S. economy expanded less than forecast, hurting the earnings outlook for exporters.
Nikkei 225 8,793 -48.17 -0.54%
Hang Seng 20,230 -271.88 -1.33%
S&P/ASX 200 4,273 -15.63 -0.36%
Shanghai Composite 2,285 -34.08 -1.47%
James Hardie Industries SE (JHX), a building materials supplier that counts the U.S. as its biggest market, fell 1.7 percent in Sydney.
Mitsubishi Electric Corp. slumped 15 percent after Japan barred the electronics maker from bidding on state contracts.
Advantest Corp. jumped 12 percent after the maker of memory-chip testers increased its dividend.