Asian stocks fell, halting a rally that drove the regional benchmark index to a seven-month high, while commodities slid amid a deadlock in US budget talks. The Australian dollar climbed even after interest rates were cut.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 0.1 per cent as of 2:38 p.m. in Tokyo after a three-day advance as Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures lost 0.2 per cent. The S&P GSCI gauge of 24 raw materials fell 0.4 per cent. The yen strengthened against most of its major peers and the so-called Aussie rose 0.2 per cent against the dollar.