SINGAPORE, Sept 13 — Asian stocks fell, with the regional benchmark index on course to snap an 11-day rally, as the US and Russia hold talks on Syria and investors await the outcome of a Federal Reserve meeting next week.

BHP Billiton Ltd, the biggest mining company, slipped 1.3 per cent in Sydney as copper futures traded near a five-week low. Newcrest Mining Ltd, Australia’s largest gold producer, sank 3.6 per cent as the bullion headed for a third week of decline. Futures on the Hang Seng Index lost 0.1 per cent, signaling Hong Kong shares will pare a second weekly advance.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.2 per cent to 137.34 as of 9:33 am in Tokyo, before markets open in China and Hong Kong. The gauge is heading for a 2.7 per cent advance this week after a report showed China’s manufacturing output accelerated to a 17-month high. The measure’s 14-day relative strength index, an indicator of trading momentum, climbed to 67 yesterday, near a threshold of 70 that may signal to some analysts shares may have risen too far.

“Investors paused for thought in the wake of the market’s recent strong run,” Matthew Sherwood, who helps oversee about $25 billion as head of markets research in Sydney at Perpetual Investments, said in an e-mail. “The global economic rebound still remains fragile and below trend, and earnings growth forecasts are extremely optimistic for this environment.”

Euro-area industrial output fell more than analysts estimated in July as the region struggled with high unemployment. Australia’s jobless rate last month reached a four-year high, while claims for unemployment benefits in the US last week fell. A report today may confirm Japan’s factory output expanded in July.

Regional Gauges

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 0.6 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.2 per cent. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index rose 0.1 per cent. Japan’s Topix index gained 0.3 per cent, erasing a loss of 0.4 per cent.

The Topix advanced 7.1 per cent this month through yesterday amid optimism about Tokyo hosting the 2020 Summer Games, taking its gains for the year to 38 per cent, the best among developed markets tracked by Bloomberg.

Japan may cut corporate taxes in the fiscal year starting in April, the Nikkei newspaper reported. Finance Minister Taro Aso said this week the government will prepare a stimulus package to cushion the effect of a proposed sales tax on the world’s third-biggest economy.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index has climbed about 20 per cent from a June 25 low, this week entering what some investors consider a bull market, amid signs China’s economy is improving. Futures of the so-called H-Shares index fell 0.2 per cent.

US futures

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.1 per cent today. The gauge fell 0.3 per cent yesterday in New York, snapping the longest streak of gains since July.

US jobless claims declined last week to 292,000, the fewest since April 2006, as upgrades to computer systems in two states caused employment agencies to report fewer applications. An agency spokesman said the upgrades played a major role in the drop in claims. Economists were expecting an increase to 330,000 from 323,000 in the previous week.

The US central bank has said any reduction in stimulus will be tied to a sustained recovery in employment. The Federal Reserve will decide to cut its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases when it meets September 17-18, according to 65 per cent of economists surveyed by Bloomberg last month.

US Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Geneva over a deal for the removal of Syria’s chemical weapons. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said any deal to surrender the nation’s chemical arsenal must be a “two-way street” in which the administration of President Barack Obama drops its military threats and stops arming Syrian rebels.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 6.4 per cent this year through yesterday. Shares on the Asia-Pacific gauge traded at 13.4 times estimated earnings, compared with 15.2 times for the S&P 500 and 14.2 for Stoxx Europe 600 Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. — Bloomberg