ASIA MARKETS: Asia Stocks Mixed As U.S. Budget Talks Weigh

By Mia Lamar

Asian shares were mixed on Wednesday following a fourth-straight session oflosses on Wall Street.

Concern U.S. lawmakers will fail to arrange a budget deal preventing a government shutdown next week weighed on U.S. trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.4% 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," Parry International Trading managing director Gavin Parry said in Hong Kong. A protracted Washington budget battle in 2011 resulted in an unprecedented downgrade of U.S. government debt and jolted international financial markets.

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. (AMAT). 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 Index fell 0.2%. The yen (USDJPY) strengthened slightly to 98.62 yen for one U.S. dollar versus Yen98.74 late on Tuesday in New York.

In Sydney, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6% with help from an advance in mining shares. Fortescue Metals Group (FSUMY) rose 3.7% and Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO) gained 0.3%.

 
   Stocks in Seoul slipped as the Kospi Composite   shed 0.6%. 
 

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