Asia stocks lower with Greek debt talks in focus; Nikkei dips 0.5%

Investing.com - Asian stock markets were broadly lower on Monday, as markets awaited the outcome of talks on a Greek debt swap deal, while Asian exporters performed poorly after Friday’s weaker-than-expected U.S. economic growth data.

During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.3%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index declined 0.4%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.54%.

Greece has yet to strike a deal with its private lenders to secure the next tranche of bailout funds to prevent a sovereign debt default, as the country does not have enough money to cover a EUR14.5 billion bond repayment due March 20.

The Financial Times reported over the weekend that Germany was pushing to institute European Union oversight of Greece’s budget, but Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos later dismissed the report, saying that any such move would be unnecessary.

In Japan, the Nikkei declined for a third day as exporters retreated after official data showed that the U.S. economy grew at a rate of 2.8% in the final three months of 2011, disappointing expectations for an increase of 3.0%.

Consumer electronics giant Sony saw shares drop 1.85%, Panasonic shares fell 2.05%, while automakers Toyota and Mazda declined 1.75% and 3.05% respectively.

Mitsubishi Electric plunged 14.8% after Japan's Defense Ministry announced that it had suspended dealings with the heavy electric machinery maker, saying it had overcharged for its services.

In earnings news, Nippon Electric Glass saw shares drop 9.95% after warning that profit may fall by at least 54% for this fiscal year on slumping demand for glass used in televisions and cameras.

Elsewhere, shares in Hong Kong slumped after an expected cut in the amount of cash banks are required to hold in reserve failed to materialize over the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, dragging bank shares lower.

The nation’s largest lender Industrial and Commercial Bank of China saw shares drop 2.5%, China Construction Bank fell 1.6%, while insurers Ping An and China Life retreated 1.65% and 2.9% respectively.

Hong Kong-based exporters were also lower. Shares of Li & Fung, which is the world’s biggest supplier of toys to major U.S. retailers, tumbled 5%%, while shares in Esprit Holdings, which counts Europe as its largest market fell 1.25%.

Looking ahead, the outlook for European stock markets was downbeat ahead of a summit of European Union leaders in Brussels, where they were expected to sign off on the implementation of the European Stability Mechanism as well as a pact aimed at enforcing deficit control measures in the region.

The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a loss of 0.6%, France’s CAC 40 futures declined 0.7%, London’s FTSE 100 futures slumped 0.5%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a drop of 0.75%.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on personal consumption expenditure followed by data on personal spending.