CORRECT: Asian Shares Mixed; All Eyes On Shanghai

SINGAPORE -- Asian stock markets were mixed Tuesday with some markets showing resilience to the global selloff that was in part triggered on Monday when the Shanghai Composite index posted its biggest single-day percentage drop since November.

Metals, energy and financials stocks were pacing the declines on the sharp retreat in commodities prices.

Tachibana Securities analyst Kenichi Hirano said: "Given how overheated Chinese stocks had been, this correction was inevitable, and some would say it was necessary," he said, adding, "players will continue to monitor Chinese stocks."

Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 0.1% after weaving in and out of the red since opening. South Korea's Kospi Composite was up 0.5% after a lower opening while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.5%, and New Zealand's NZX-50 was 0.8% lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures contract was up 8 points in screen trade.

The DJIA fell 2.0% or 186.06 points in New York, marking its largest one-day point and percentage drop since July 2. The losses in U.S. stocks were broad-based with energy and materials counters down on a pullback in commodities prices while financials were also hit.

RBC Capital Markets currency strategist Matthew Strauss said Monday's selloff showed that last week's "pockets" of risk aversion had turned into a "general theme of dumping riskier assets." He said this was being helped along by a general revisiting of global recovery expectations, helped by soft U.S. retail sales and consumer sentiment data late last week, although "investors are not yet dumping 'everything risky' in apocalyptic proportions."

Though the selloff has stoked fears of a severe correction for stock markets after the summer rally, some analysts said that recent corporate earnings and data still provided hope and that the markets' uptrend was not completely dead in the water.

"People still doubt the pace of the economic recovery. But we have witnessed positive earnings results and some economic data indicating a faster-than-expected economic recovery, so stocks will come back and rise after a cooling-down period," said You Seung-min at Samsung Securities in Seoul.

Financials in Tokyo were mostly lower, tracking losses in U.S. banks. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group was down 1.5%, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial was down 1.4% and Mizuho Financial was off 2.2%.

Energy stocks across the region were lower after continued concerns over hefty stockpiles and weak demand in the U.S. led to further losses in crude oil futures prices. Nymex light, sweet crude oil for September delivery settled down 1.1% or 76 cents at $66.75 per barrel, the contract's lowest level since July 29. On Globex, the contract was recently trading up 58 cents at $67.33 per barrel.

Korea's SK Energy was down 1.0%, Woodside Petroleum was 1.3% lower, Inpex was down 4.8% and Japan Petroleum was off 2.1%.

Base metals prices fell sharply Monday on the London Metal Exchange as the selloff in equities sparked renewed risk aversion and the stronger dollar also pressured prices. The correction in prices came after strong gains for the metals complex in recent weeks.

LME three-month copper ended at $6,050 per metric ton, down $190 from the afternoon kerb on Friday. Aluminum ended at $1,960 per ton, down $30 while nickel finished at $19,100 per ton, down $475.

Metals recovered a little of Monday's losses in early Asian trade with LME three-month copper at $6,140 per ton, up $90 from the London kerb while three-month aluminum was at $1,992 per ton, up $32.

Metals and mining stocks were sharply lower on Monday's price pullback. Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. was down 4.0%, Rio Tinto was down 3.6%, BHP Billiton was off 1.9%, Equinox Minerals had shed 6.5% and Oz Minerals was down 3.1%.

Korean stocks were being supported by buying in technology counters, defensive telecom and utility stocks. "Investors are feeling jittery. But this correction won't likely stop the current uptrend," said Lee Jin-woo at Mirae Asset Securities.

Samsung Electronics was up 0.1%, SK Telecom was 0.9% higher and Korea Gas Corp had risen 2.2%.

Shares in the highly overseas-sensitive New Zealand market were sharply lower, with the benchmark stock index earlier dropping to a 15-day low. "The markets have had reasonably nasty falls overnight, so with the global market setting the tone New Zealand is following through," said First NZ Capital head of equities James Lee.

Losses were broad-based with Fletcher Building down 3.4%, Auckland Airport was down 1.9% while Fisher & Paykel Appliances lost 3.8%.

In foreign exchange markets, the safe-haven yen was a little weaker as market players took a more sanguine view on the economic recovery than the pullback in stock markets was suggesting.

The U.S. dollar was at Y94.69 from Y94.44 late in New York trade on Monday, while the euro was regaining some ground at Y132.72 from Y133.06 and $1.4114 from $1.4085.

Lead Japanese government bond futures lower despite the rise in U.S. Treasurys Monday, helped by the Nikkei's gains and caution before today's five-year JGB tender. The lead September JGB futures contract was down 0.03 points at 138.56, off their 138.83 opening high. The 10-year cash JGB yield was up 0.5 basis points at 1.345%.

Spot gold was at $937.60 per troy ounce, up $4.40 from the New York close.