ASIA MARKETS: Asia Stocks Fall, But Sydney Market Outperforms

By Mia Lamar

Stocks in Sydney were a surprising standout on Wednesday -- outperforming the rest of the region despite a fourth-straight session of losses on Wall Street.

The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8% -- catching traders off guard as many had predicted cautious trade. High-end retailer David Jones Ltd. was the biggest gainer on the ASX, jumping 5% following the company's full-year earnings report.

"It isn't often that you see a bottom-up story move a market, but appears that the numbers have boosted the consumer space," said Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG in Melbourne.

Trading was more subdued elsewhere in Asia as concern that U.S. lawmakers will fail to arrange a budget deal preventing a government shutdown next week weighed on sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.4% overnight and the S&P 500 index (SPX) closed down 0.3%.

"The potential of a 2011-type fallout is burning red hot in the minds of investors," said Gavin Parry, managing director at Parry International Trading in Hong Kong. A protracted Washington budget battle in 2011 resulted in an unprecedented downgrade of U.S. government debt and jolted financial markets around the world.

Deal making was also on traders' minds in Tokyo following Tokyo Electron Ltd.'s (TOELY) agreement to sell itself to U.S.-based Applied Materials Inc. The all-stock deal announced late on Tuesday values Tokyo Electron at $9.3 billion. Shares of the chip manufacturer opened up 14% in Tokyo, hitting a trading limit.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 0.2% as the yen (USDJPY) firmed. The Japanese currency was changing hands at 98.63 yen for one U.S. dollar versus Yen98.74 late Tuesday in New York.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged 0.4% higher while China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.3%.

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