Asian Shares End Down; Telcos Weigh HK Market

SINGAPORE -- Asian equity markets ended lower Wednesday as investors locked in recent gains following a fall on Wall Street.

Japan's Nikkei 225 ended flat at 10333.39, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.3% to 22318.11 and China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.5% to 3070.59. South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.3%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.2%, New Zealand's NZX 50 slid 1.1%, Taiwan's Taiex gave up 0.7% and the Philippines' main index dropped 0.9%.

"After a few good days it's always healthy for markets to take a breather," said Hamilton Hindin Greene adviser Adrian Vance in New Zealand.

"We have seen broad-based falls in line with Wall Street, but it's been fairly muted," said Marcus Droga, private client adviser with Macquarie Private Wealth, adding that he expected subdued trade before a slew of major Chinese economic data on Thursday, including third-quarter gross domestic product and September figures for inflation, industrial production and fixed asset investments.

Moody's economy.com associate economist Alaistair Chan wrote in a report the data will likely show continued improvements in the key indicators. "The government is attempting to stem the rise in overcapacity, but this will be hampered by its inability to remove stimulus measures, given that the economy is so dependent on them," Mr. Chan added.

In afternoon trading, India's Sensex shed 1.2% and Singapore's Straits Times Index lost 0.7%, with Thailand's SET Index down 1.3% and Indonesian shares 1.0% lower.

In Sydney trading, BHP Billiton shares dropped 0.2% after the miner said its first quarter iron ore production rose 1% on year to a record 30.1 million metric tons. That fell slightly below market hopes for a big jump in output.

Uranium miner Paladin Energy jumped 5.4% - after rising 8.8% on the Toronto Stock Exchange - as BHP said its Olympic Dam copper-uranium-gold mine in South Australia would produce at only 25% capacity for up to six months, accounting for losses of up to 1,500 metric tons of uranium and over 70,000 tons of copper.

Technology stocks lost ground in Seoul and Taipei after Bloomberg reported that AT&T had sued Samsung Electronics, LG Display, AU Optronics and other LCD makers for alleged price-fixing in the U.S.

Samsung Electronics fell 2.3% and LG Display gave up 0.5% in Seoul, with AU Optronics losing 2% in Taipei. LG Electronics rebounded from early declines to finish up 1.7% in Seoul on better-than-expected third-quarter earnings.

South Korean automotive shares advanced, with Hyundai Motor jumping 4.2% after Morgan Stanley advised clients to buy the stock ahead of its third-quarter results. Kia Motors climbed 1.8%.

Hyundai Heavy Industries fell 0.3% after rising in the previous two sessions, although a company executive said Hyundai Heavy had secured an order worth around $2 billion to build core units of a liquefied natural gas plant in the Gorgon project - the single biggest order it had ever received.

In Tokyo, Elpida Memory jumped 5.4% after SanDisk in the U.S. said it swung to a third-quarter profit, while Toshiba, a joint venture partner of SanDisk, climbed 4%.

The Hong Kong market was weighed down by shares of heavyweight China Mobile, which fell 1.9%, and China Telecom Corp., which lost 2.6%, after they reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results Tuesday.

In foreign exchange markets, the euro was recently buying $1.4939 from $1.4929 late in New York, and Y135.64 from Y135.40. The greenback was buying Y90.77, from Y90.61.

Japanese government bond futures were 0.07 higher at 138.69 points, after a rise in U.S. Treasurys Tuesday.

Spot gold was five cents lower from New York levels, at $1,054.65 a troy ounce. "(The) yellow metal will continue to look to the dollar and equities for direction, with gold broadly tracking risk sentiment," said TheBullionDesk's James Moore in a report Wednesday.

Front-month Nymex crude oil futures were down 98 cents from New York, at $78.14 a barrel.