YEREVAN, August 15. /ARKA/. Asian stocks fell, led by Japanese shares, snapping the longest gain for the regional index in six weeks. The yen strengthened versus 15 of 16 major counterparts, while gold and oil rose.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.5 percent at 1:33 p.m. in Tokyo, the first decline in six days. Japan’s Topix Index retreated 1.5 percent as the yen appreciated 0.4 percent against the U.S. currency. The Bloomberg Dollar Index fell 0.2 percent and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures slipped 0.1 percent. Australia’s currency rose 0.6 percent versus the dollar and the euro increased 0.3 percent. Gold climbed 0.3 percent, while crude oil gained for a fifth day in New York.

Japan’s government hasn’t asked for a study into lowering the corporate tax rate, Finance Minister Taro Aso said in Tokyo, refuting a report this week by Nikkei newspaper. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said late yesterday that policy makers should be careful in changing course on their bond-buying program based solely on economic forecasts. The U.S. will report data on jobless claims and consumer prices today.

“The market’s had a good run over the last few weeks so we’re likely to see a bit of selling pressure today,” Matthew Sherwood, the head of investment markets research in Sydney at Perpetual Investments, which manages about $25 billion, said by phone. “The jobless claims will be watched as that’s regarded as a very good leading indicator for the U.S.”—0--