Asian markets fell Friday after reports of disagreement at the European Union summit which failed to secure the backing of the 27-member nations for treaty changes that are needed to coordinate fiscal policy to help resolve the debt crisis.
The Nikkei was down 1.3% at the time of writing. The Shanghai Composite was down 0.6% while the Hang Seng led losses for the region as it tumbled 2.6%. The Sensex was down 1.5% and in Sydney the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries gave up 1.6%.
EU leaders sealed a new fiscal pact for ensuring tighter discipline but a deal may now involve the 17 euro-zone countries plus any others that want to join.