Asia stocks fall as focus stays on US central bank

Asian stocks slid Tuesday as investors, particularly those investing in up-and-coming markets, braced for the possible phaseout of a U.S. central bank stimulus program that has boosted stock prices worldwide, according to AP. Stock benchmarks and currencies in emerging economies such as India and Indonesia have been hammered as funds flowed out of their stock markets in anticipation the Federal Reserve will start reducing its extraordinary support for the U.S. economy. Indonesia's benchmark index, which dived 5 percent on Monday, tacked on another 4.1 percent in losses by midday Tuesday. India's Sensex fell 0.8 percent after dropping 5.6 percent in the previous two sessions. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 1.3 percent to 13,575.56. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.5 percent to 22,120.54. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.7 percent to 5,073.90. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.9 percent to 1,900.10. Stocks fell Monday as investors continued to sell bonds, pushing yields to multi-year highs. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.88 percent, the highest since July 2011. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.5 percent to close Monday at 15,010.74. The Standard & Poor's 500 dropped 0.6 percent, to 1,646.06. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.4 percent to 3,589.09. Benchmark oil for September delivery was down 23 cents at $106.62 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract closed down 36 cents to $107.10 on the Nymex on Monday. In currencies, the dollar fell to 97.42 yen from 97.62 yen late Monday. The euro rose to $1.3347 from $1.3333.