Asian stocks fell, dragging the MSCI Asia Pacific Index lower for the first time in three days, as slower-than-estimated expansion by U.S. service industries underscored concern global growth is faltering.

Honda Motor Co., which got about 44 percent of sales from North America in the last fiscal year, sank 2.3 percent. Samsung Electronics Co., which gets about 83 percent of revenue overseas, declined 1 percent in Seoul. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., operator of the world’s biggest merchant fleet, lost 2.1 percent as a measure of shipping rates declined for a 28th consecutive day. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. retreated 1.6 percent in Hong Kong on fund raising speculation.

“The global consensus is that the economic recovery is slowing and we need a catalyst to boost market sentiment,” said Koichi Ogawa, chief portfolio manager at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. in Tokyo, which oversees $52 billion. “Investors can’t plan clearly whether to position defensively or to buy relatively cheap equities.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1.1 percent to 112.59 as of 1:23 p.m. in Tokyo. The gauge has slumped 13 percent from its high this year on April 15 on concern Europe’s debt crisis and Chinese steps to curb property prices will hurt global growth. Companies in the gauge trade at 13.5 times estimated earnings, the lowest level since December 2008.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index sank 1.3 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.2 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 1.1 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi Index dropped 0.9 percent.

Automakers Slump

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 1 percent in Sydney, where a survey from the Australian Industry Group and Housing Industry Association released today showed the country’s building industry shrank in June at the fastest pace in 10 months.

Futures on the U.S. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined 0.5 percent. The gauge pared a 2 percent gain to close 0.5 percent higher yesterday after the Institute for Supply Management’s index of non-manufacturing businesses in June fell more than expected to a four-month low from May.

A gauge of consumer discretionary stocks including automakers in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 1.2 percent, the third-biggest decline among 10 industry groups.

Honda Motor dropped 2.3 percent to 2,508 yen. Nissan Motor Co., which counts North America as it biggest market, slid 2.7 percent to 623 yen. Sony Corp., the maker of PlayStation game consoles and Bravia televisions, fell 2.6 percent to 2,300 yen.

‘Very Long Siege’

Two stocks declined for each that rose in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index today. The gauge retreated 3.4 percent last week, the most since the period ended May 21, as reports on U.S. manufacturing, employment and home sales pointed to slower growth in the second half of the year.

Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman told Bloomberg Television yesterday that the U.S. should have a “kitchen-sink strategy” that uses all fiscal and monetary policies possible to prevent the economy from sliding back into a recession.

“We are looking at what could be a very long siege here,” Krugman said. “We should be throwing everything we can get at this.”

Samsung Electronics, Asia’s biggest maker of semiconductors, flat screens and mobile phones, lost 1 percent to 767,000 won. The stock declined on speculation the company won’t be able to sustain the 87 percent surge in second-quarter operating profit that it reported yesterday.

“We already had expected such outstanding performance” for the second quarter, said Kang Shin Woo, chief investment officer at Seoul-based Korea Investment Trust Management Co., which manages $15.6 billion. “Some investors are concerned that earnings may slow down from the fourth quarter.”

Baltic Dry

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines slipped 2.1 percent to 570 yen. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., Japan’s third-biggest shipping line by sales, declined 3 percent to 351 yen.

The Baltic Dry Index, which measures the cost of transporting commodities, dropped 4 percent in London yesterday, taking its 28-day loss to 49 percent. That’s the gauge’s longest losing streak since June 2004.

Finance companies were the biggest drag on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. In Hong Kong, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China fell 1.6 percent to HK$5.58 after Ming Pao Daily News reported the company plans to raise as much as 45 billion yuan ($6.6 billion) in a rights offer. The company’s Shanghai-traded shares declined 0.2 percent to 4.13 yuan.

Agricultural Bank IPO

Chinese bank stocks also declined as Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. sought funds in what may be the world’s largest initial public offering. The sale is raising $19.2 billion, according to people with knowledge of the pricing for Hong Kong and Shanghai.

“Banks have been ignoring the weak market sentiment and keep announcing big fundraising plans,” said Wei Wei, an analyst at West China Securities Co. in Shanghai.

In Sydney, BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, rose 0.5 percent to A$37.35 on higher metal prices. Rio Tinto Ltd., the world’s third-biggest mining company, gained 1 percent to A$65.74.

The London Metal Exchange Index, a measure of six metals, rose 2.2 percent yesterday, while copper futures for September delivery climbed 1.9 percent as shrinking inventories signaled demand will remain steady even as global economic growth slows.

HTC Corp., the world’s largest maker of handsets using Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc. operating systems, climbed 2.2 percent to NT$506 in Taipei. The company reported second-quarter profit that beat estimates as demand for Google’s Android phones drove sales to a record.