SINGAPORE--Asian stock markets were lower Thursday as uncertainty over the U.S. debt ceiling debate continued to weigh market sentiment, while concerns over a stronger yen dragged exporters in Tokyo.
"The scary part of the story is the fact that markets have not priced-in the U.S. defaulting on its debt. Should the unthinkable happen in the next week then a throw back to the chaos of 2008 would again become a reality," said CMC Markets analyst Ben Le Brun. "Should the majority of opinion be correct and the U.S. does avoid a default, global markets do appear as if they are positioned for a relief rally of sorts. Until then investors should brace themselves for more pain."
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.1%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slid 1.2%, South Korea's Kospi Composite lost 0.8% and New Zealand's NZX-50 fell 0.5%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 19 points in screen trade.
In Tokyo concerns over a stronger yen and weak market sentiment outweighed positive earnings reports.
Among exporters Canon fell 1.4%, Sony fell 1.0% and Toyota Motor fell 1.8%. Concerns over a stronger yen also weighed Nissan Motor, which fell 1.1% despite posting stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings.
Panasonic bucked the market trend, rising 1.4% on its decision to sell subsidiary Sanyo Electric's household appliance business to China's Haier Group.
In Sydney shares were lower tracking bearish offshore leads, with resource and financial stocks underperforming amid downbeat market sentiment.
Among resources stocks BHP Billiton fell 1.6% and Rio Tinto fell 1.5%. Among financials ANZ Bank slid 1.6% and Macquarie tumbled 3.7%.
Wesfarmers fell 2.3% after its food and liquor sales missed expectations.
In foreign exchange markets the euro was steady against the U.S. dollar as investors mulled concerns on European debt after S&P downgraded Greece's long-term sovereign credit rating to 'CC' from 'CCC', and uncertainty over the U.S. debt ceiling debate with the August 2 deadline looming and potential U.S. credit ratings downgrades on the horizon.
The single currency was at $1.4371 against the dollar, from $1.4363 late Wednesday in New York, and at ¥112.04 against the yen, from ¥112.02. The dollar was at ¥77.95, from ¥77.98.
September Japanese government bond futures were up 0.10 at 141.79 points.
Spot gold was at $1,615 per troy ounce, up 90 cents from its New York settlement on Wednesday. September Nymex crude oil futures were down 41 cents at $96.99 per barrel on Globex.
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