SYDNEY, Australia -- Asian shares are set for a weaker start on Tuesday, with financial firms such as Mizuho Financial Group likely to be pressured by nagging credit concerns, while a drop in oil prices could hurt energy firms.

US bank stocks slumped to their lowest level in a decade after Lehman Brothers estimated that a proposed accounting rule would force mortgage providers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to raise as much as $75.0 billion between them.

Analysts predicted significant credit losses for large regional banks, including Marshall & Ilsley Corp. and SunTrust Banks Inc., adding to worries that next week's earnings reports could fall short of already low expectations.

Energy firms such as Australia's Woodside Petroleum Ltd. may decline after oil prices dropped more than$4.00 a barrel Monday on profit taking and signals that Iran will be more flexible in talks over its nuclear program.

Asian stocks listed on Wall Street edged up 0.3 percent overnight, while the MSCI's measure of Asia Pacific stocks excluding Japan rose 0.25 percent Monday.