Asian stocks fall after eurozone ratings cut Monday 04:00 GMT Asian stocks dropped as banks and commodity producers lost ground on renewed concerns that Europe's debt crisis is far from resolved, after Standard & Poor's cut its ratings on nine eurozone nations. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 1.2 per cent with Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average off 1.6 per cent, South Korea's Kospi Composite index down 1.6 per cent and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index 1.3 per cent lower. Late on Friday S&P stripped France and Austria of their triple-A ratings, as well as cutting ratings on seven other countries, citing the region's insufficient policy initiatives to resolve its debt crisis. The downgrades were widely anticipated and already priced [in]. However, they set a nervous early tone for this week's markets as we approach more significant hurdles in the evolution of the eurozone crisis," Ric Spooner, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, said in a note. Financial shares were among the biggest decliners ahead of debt sales by some European nations. France will sell as much as €8.7bn of bills later in the day, followed by Spain's and Greece's bill sales tomorrow. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group fell 2.1 per cent and Macquarie Group dropped 1.9 per cent in Sydney. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan's biggest lender, slid 2.1 per cent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group shed 1.8 per cent in Tokyo while Mizuho Financial Group declined by1.8 per cent. In Seoul, Woori Financial Group dropped 2.1 per cent and Shinhan Financial Group dipped 2.8 per cent. Resource stocks were under pressure due to demand concerns and a stronger US dollar amid global economic uncertainties. BHP Billiton declined 1.4 per cent, Fortescue Metals Group dropped 2.7 per cent and Newcrest Mining slipped 1.4 per cent in Sydney. In Shanghai, Sichuan Western Resources dropped 2.8 per cent and Shandong Gold slipped 2.2 per cent. Jiangxi Copper dropped 1.2 per cent while Baoshan Iron & Steel, the listed unit of China's second-largest steelmaker, was off 0.8 per cent after 2011 net profit dropped 43 per cent from a year earlier. Japanese exporters slumped as the yen touched a fresh 11-year high of Y97.17 against the euro. Sony dipped 2.5 per cent while Canon, a Japanese camera maker that gets about a third of its sales from Europe, lost 2.1 per cent. Chinese shares were also lower on concerns over the country's economic slowdown with the Shanghai Composite index off 0.6 per cent. Beijing is due to unveil its fourth-quarter economic growth figures on Tuesday. Shipping firms dropped with China Cosco off 1.3 per cent and China Shipping Container Lines down 2.3 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1 per cent with property developers and transportation shares leading the decline. China Resources Land shed 1.8 per cent and China Southern Airlines tumbled 5.6 per cent. Esprit Holdings, a clothes retailer that counts Europe as its biggest market, dropped 1.9 per cent. Taiwan's Taiex index slipped 1 per cent on profit-taking despite political relief after Beijing-friendly Ma Ying-jeou was re-elected, indicating further good economic ties with China. TSMC slid 2.2 per cent, leading the market's decline. In Seoul, Namhae Chemical slid 3.7 per cent after the company and 12 other fertiliser makers were fined a combined Won82.8bn ($71.8m) by South Korean regulators for fixing tender prices. Samsung Techwin dropped 2.6 per cent after Hyundai Securities cut its 2012 earnings forecasts and target price. Apparel maker Handsome was a bright spot, up 2.5 per cent, heading for a record close. The company extended gains after Hyundai Home Shopping Network decided to buy a 35 per cent stake in the company. Hyundai Home Shopping gained 1.5 per cent. In commodities markets, spot gold fell $4.9 to $1,634.80 per troy ounce while February Nymex crude oil futures gained five cents to $98.75 per barrel on Globex.