By LESLIE SHAFFER And GA-WOON PHILIP VAHN SINGAPORE—Asian <a href="http://aaaajerseys.com"><strong>MLB Hats</strong></a> stock markets were lower Monday, with a stronger yen hurting exporters in Tokyo, while railways-related shares tumbled in Shanghai following the weekend's deadly collision of two high-speed trains in China. Investor sentiment suffered a marked setback after Wall Street's mixed session Friday, while U.S. congressional leaders remained split Sunday on how to cut the deficit and raise the debt ceiling. "With just days to go now before the Aug. 2 deadline, investors who had previously written the impasse off as political games are now going to seriously consider the possibility of a default," GFT Global Markets director of global dealing operations Martin Slaney said. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was down 0.8%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.2%, while South Korea's Kospi Composite <a href="http://aaaajerseys.com"><strong>wholesale jerseys</strong></a> was 0.8% lower. The Shanghai Composite Index was down 2.1%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.8%, and India's Sen###### declined 0.1%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 125 points in screen trade. Exporters were weak in Tokyo as the yen strengthened on safe-haven demand amid a lack of progress in U.S. debt-ceiling negotiations. Sony shed 2%, Sharp lost 1.1% and Toyota Motor was down 1.2%. The yen's strength against the dollar is "throwing cold water on Japanese manufacturers who had recovered quickly from the supply chain disruption" in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake, Tetsuya Miura, chief market analyst at Mizuho Securities said. High-speed railway equipment manufacturers fell sharply in Shanghai after a Chinese high-speed train derailed Saturday when it was hit by another express, throwing two carriages off a viaduct. China CNR tumbled 6.2% and CSR fell 6.8%. Xinhua Agency reported <a href="http://aaaajerseys.com/"><strong>mlb jerseys</strong></a> Sunday that the train collision in eastern China's Zhejiang Province has killed 35 people and left 210 others injured. "We expect the Ministry of Railway to launch a comprehensive work plan with more stringent safety inspections on China's railroad network," said Goldman Sachs in a research note. Retail stocks advanced in Mumbai on news a panel of senior bureaucrats has approved a proposal to allow up to 51% foreign direct investment into India's multibrand retail sector. Shoppers Stop rose 3.4%, Vishal Retail added 6.8%, and Koutons Retail added 7.7%. The proposal will now go to the federal cabinet for approval, an official directly involved in the matter said Friday. In the foreign-exchange markets, the dollar struggled against the yen amid concerns over the stalled debt talks. The dollar was fetching ¥78.37 from ¥78.56 late Friday in New York and the euro was at 1.4378 from 1.4358. Against the yen, the euro was at ¥112.71 from ¥112.76. Write to Leslie Shaffer at
leslie.shaffer@dowjones.com <a href="http://www.436100.info/view.php?id=93112"><strong>Yen Strength Leads Asian Stock Declines</strong></a>