Asia hits 3-week low

GLOBAL MARKETS/ STOCK REPORT

Asian stocks fell the most in more than three weeks after the US unexpectedly shed jobs for the first time in four years and Japan's economy shrank.

Toyota Motor Corp led exporters lower while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group paced declines by Japanese companies reliant on domestic demand.

Samsung Electronics Co slid on concern spending will slow in the world's two biggest economies. BHP Billiton, the largest mining company, declined after metals prices dropped.

"Investors will keep their distance from growth-sensitive stocks because they are worried about a slowdown in the global economy," said Masaru Hamasaki, a senior strategist at Toyota Asset Management Co, which oversees $3.3 billion in Tokyo. "Bearish sentiment will dominate at least until late October."

National Australia Bank fell after it bought a 20 per cent stake in China's Union Trust & Investment Gammon India slumped after a bridge it reportedly built collapsed in Hyderabad, killing at least two people.

Europe
European stocks were little changed. Royal Philips Electronics NV rose the most in two months after the region's largest consumer electronics maker raised its target for profitability.

Barclays and Credit Suisse Group led a decline by banks. Scottish & Newcastle, Britain's largest brewer, climbed after the Financial Mail on Sunday reported the company is preparing to defend itself against a hostile bid by Denmark's Carlsberg A/S.

Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index lost 0.1 per cent to 365.1 at 11:03 a.m. in London. The Stoxx 50 and the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the euro region, were little changed.

National benchmarks declined in 17 of the 18 western European markets that were open. The UK's FTSE 100 slipped 0.1 per cent. France's CAC 40 dropped 0.4 per cent, while Germany's DAX decreased 0.3 per cent.

US
US stock-index futures were little changed. Countrywide Financial Corp advanced in Europe after the biggest US mortgage company said it plans to cut as many as 12,000 jobs.

Lehman Brothers Holdings, the biggest underwriter of bonds backed by home loans, and Morgan Stanley fell after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced its earnings estimates for the companies and as the Financial Times said US investment banks may report "heavy losses" on leveraged buyout deals.