Asia Stocks fall on growth concern

Asian markets mostly fell Wednesday as dealers ignored a surge on Wall Street, with worries about the global economy continuing to weigh on sentiment while Japans credit rating was cut.The dollar slipped against the yen on disappointment over a Japanese plan to halt its currencys rise, which hit a post-war record last week, with many dealers saying the government was not bold enough, analysts said.Most regional bourses began on a high after the three main indexes in New York posted huge gains on hopes that Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will announce a fresh round of monetary easing to kickstart the US economy.However, they soon retreated, with nervousness stoked by a downgrade by Moodys of Japans credit rating, citing the countrys high debt levels and budget deficit.Tokyo lost 0.52 percent, Hong Kong fell 0.81 percent by the break, Seoul gave up 0.76 percent and Taipei was 0.90 percent lower while Sydney was flat but Shanghai gained 0.17 percent.Traders were given a strong lead from the United States, where the Dow soared 2.97 percent, the S&P 500 leaped 3.43 percent and the Nasdaq climbed 4.29 percent ahead of a key speech by Bernanke this week.Expectations are high that the Fed chief will announce new plans -- such as a third round of quantitative easing -- to deal with the stagnating US economy, which many fear could fall back into recession.US markets were also given a lift by better-than-expected manufacturing data from China and the eurozone.However, the upbeat sentiment was dented by the decision by Moodys to cut Japans bond rating to Aa3 from Aa2, citing the large budget deficits and the build-up in Japanese government debt since the 2009 global recession.It is the first time since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that a major ratings agency has downgraded its sovereign debt. Moodys said the outlook was stable.