The Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average fell as a stalemate in the U.S. Congress ahead of a deadline for raising the government’s debt ceiling heightened the risk of a default that could roil credit markets and slow the global economy. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., Japan’s No. 2 bank by market value, fell 1.2 percent. Nissan Motor Co., a carmaker that gets about 80 percent of its revenue overseas, lost 1.9 percent after the dollar weakened against the yen, cutting the earnings outlook for the exporter. Tokyo Electric Power Co. plunged 16 percent after the government said the utility’s stakeholders may be asked to “cooperate” in compensating people affected by the disaster at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant. “Investors right now are very conscious of political uncertainty,” said Junichi Misawa, head of equity　investment at Tokyo-based STB Asset Management Co. “The market is more concerned about political risk than about a downturn in the economy.” The Nikkei 225 fell 0.5 percent to 10,047.19 at the 3 p.m. close in Tokyo. The broader Topix lost 0.8 percent to 859.11. The gauge has slipped 1.7 percent since a post-earthquake high on July 8 as mounting concern U.S. lawmakers will fail to reach an agreement on the debt limit weakened the dollar and hit Japanese exporters. Declines on the gauge have been limited as companies from Canon Inc. to Kao Corp. raised earnings forecasts amid a faster-than-expected recovery from Japan’s March 11 quake. To contact the reporters on this story: Norie Kuboyama in Tokyo at nkuboyama@bloomberg.net; To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net.

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