SINGAPORE (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell, led by banks and technology companies, on renewed concern the credit squeeze and a worldwide economic slowdown are denting profit growth.

National Australia Bank Ltd. and Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group Inc. declined after credit losses increased at Bank of America Corp. Advantest Corp., the world’s biggest maker of memory-chip testers, and United Microelectronics Corp. retreated after Texas Instruments Inc. forecast profit that trailed analyst expectations as chip demand slowed. China’s stocks slumped, driving a benchmark index to 50 percent below its October peak.
“There are going to be continued negative surprises in terms of earnings,” James McCaughan, chief executive officer of Des Moines, Iowa-based Principal Global Investors, which oversees $220 billion, said in an interview in Singapore. “Sentiment remains pretty fragile and we need to see a more convincing recovery before calling a bottom.”
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1.1 percent to 147.09 as of 2:51 p.m. in Tokyo, with more than two stocks retreating for each that gained. The benchmark surged 3.1 percent to the highest since Feb. 28.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 1.1 percent to 13,547.77, paced by Nissan Motor Co. and Sony Corp. after brokerages downgraded the stocks. All Asian benchmarks dropped apart from Sri Lanka.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of the country’s two stock exchanges, fell 4 percent to 2,992.32. That’s 50 percent lower than last October’s high of 6,092.06. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures expiring in June lost 0.5 percent on Tuesday.
Banks decline
National Australia, the country’s biggest bank by assets, fell 1.9 percent to A$28.90. Mizuho Financial, Japan’s third- largest publicly traded bank by market value, lost 3.8 percent to 452,000 yen, the steepest decline in two weeks.
Financial shares accounted for about a third of the retreat by MSCI’s Asian index. The world’s biggest banks and securities firms have incurred $290 billion in asset write-downs and credit losses since the beginning of 2007.
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said in a report published on Tuesday the financial-market crisis isn’t over as banks remain reluctant to lend.
Daisan earnings
Daisan Bank Ltd., a Japanese regional bank, slipped 3.5 percent to 359 yen. Full-year profit was 1.01 billion yen, missing its forecast of 3.01 billion yen, the company said, citing impairments of stock holdings.
Advantest dropped 4.8 percent to 2,855 yen. Tokyo Electron Ltd., the world’s second-largest supplier of semiconductor equipment, lost 3.2 percent to 6,620 yen. United Microelectronics, the world’s second-largest supplier of made-to-order computer chips, declined 1.1 percent to NT$18.80 in Taipei.
Texas Instruments, which supplies chips to Nokia Oyj, predicted second-quarter profit of 42 cents to 48 cents a share, missing the 49 cents estimated by analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Earnings and sales for the first quarter also trailed analysts’ lowered projections.
Disappointing earnings weighed on other stocks. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., India’s largest software-services provider, dropped 7.2 percent to 921.5 rupees, headed for its biggest slump in three months. The company reported the slowest profit growth in 12 quarters after some clients deferred contracts.
Central Glass
Central Glass Co., Japan’s third-biggest maker of sheet glass, plunged 8.8 percent to 386 yen, the biggest drop on MSCI’s regional index. Net income for the year ended March 31 missed the company’s forecast because of write-downs related to its withdrawal from flat-panel operations.
Tsingtao Brewery Co., the Chinese beer company partly owned by Anheuser-Busch Cos., fell 3.8 percent to 21.18 yuan in Shanghai, set for the lowest in 11 months, after reporting 2007 profit that missed analyst estimates.
In Japan, Nissan Motor slumped 4.8 percent to 875 yen, snapping a five-day, 14 percent rally. Nikko Citigroup Ltd.
Isuzu, Sony
The brokerage also reduced its recommendation on Isuzu Motors Ltd., Japan’s largest maker of light-duty trucks, to “hold” from “buy.” Isuzu dropped 4.6 percent to 496 yen.
Sony, the world’s second-largest maker of consumer electronics, lost 2.6 percent to 4,520 yen after CLSA Asia- Pacific Markets lowered its rating on the stock to “sell” from “underperform,” saying the company was the “most vulnerable” in the industry to price declines and movements in the yen.
Meanwhile, Nomura Holdings Inc. dropped 3.8 percent to 1,640 yen after the Yomiuri newspaper said an employee is under investigation for allegedly leaking information on mergers and acquisitions. Michiyori Fujiwara, a Nomura spokesman, confirmed the investigation.