Asia stocks fall as Japan slips; oil gains with palladium

Bloomberg - Asian stocks dropped as Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average snapped its longest rally in 4 1/2 years on its first trading day of 2014. Crude oil rose with gasoline following last week’s slide while palladium advanced.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.3 percent by 9:09 a.m. in Tokyo, as the Nikkei 225 slid 1.2 percent, declining for the first time in 10 trading days. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) futures climbed 0.1 percent. The yen was steady at 104.83 per dollar after halting a nine-week slump last week, while Australia’s dollar extended its rebound versus the greenback.

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