UPDATE: Asian Shares Slip; BHP Down In Sydney, LCD Shrs Fall

SINGAPORE -- Asian shares were falling modestly Wednesday, with BHP Billiton down in Sydney despite a solid first quarter production update.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 0.3% with South Korea's Kospi Composite shedding 0.6% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 off 0.3%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.6% and China's Shanghai Composite lost 0.2%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 17 points lower in screen trade.

"We have seen broad-based falls in line with Wall Street, but it's been fairly muted," said Macquarie Private Wealth private client adviser Marcus Droga, who expected subdued trade before a slew of major Chinese economic data on Thursday.

Hamilton Hindin Greene adviser Adrian Vance in New Zealand looked for selling to be low-key. "After a few good days it's always healthy for markets to take a breather."

There was some supportive news after-hours in the U.S., with Yahoo jumping 5.1% as its third quarter earnings more than tripled despite a double-digit revenue decline, while SanDisk added 9.7% as it swung to a third-quarter profit.

BHP Billiton shares were leading the Australian market lower, falling 1.0% despite the miner saying its first quarter iron ore production rose 1% on year to a record 30.1 million metric tons. Analysts said the result was slightly below market hopes for a big jump in output.

Uranium miner Paladin Energy though gained 5.8% - 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.

Regional technology counters lost ground, with semiconductor plays falling after their recent strong run and liquid-crystal display stocks facing some pressure 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 was down 2.4% with AU Optronics off 1.8% and LG Display lower by 1.5%.

LG Electronics slipped 1.3% in Seoul before its third quarter report later in the day.

Bucking the trend, Japan's Elpida Memory added 4.5% after SanDisk's results in the U.S., while Toshiba, which is a joint venture partner with SanDisk, added 3.1%.

In Korea, automotive shares gained with Hyundai Motor up 2.7% and Kia Motors up 1.8%. "People are now saying their (third quarter) earnings may come out very strong," said Bae Sung-young at Hyundai Securities, with the duo set to report this week.

Hyundai Heavy Industries ticked 0.5% higher, adding to a gain of around 7.0% from the previous two sessions. 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.

Among other markets, New Zealand's NZX-50 had fallen 0.8%, Singapore's Straits Times Index slipped 0.4%, Taiwan's Taiex shed 0.7% and Indonesian shares lost 0.6%. Malaysia's KLCI and Thailand's main index were both down just 0.1%.

The yen and U.S. dollar gained ground against the euro as regional stock markets slipped. The euro was at $1.4920 against the U.S. dollar, from $1.4929 late in New York, and down against the yen at Y135.31, from Y135.40, with the greenback at Y90.66, from Y90.61.

"While some have linked the moves to weak U.S. data (housing starts and building permits), the data are not disappointing enough to warrant a shift in trend. Instead, the markets appear to be taking profits on some of their risk-on trades," Brown Brothers Harriman said.

The New Zealand dollar traded at US$0.7493, having touched US$0.7510 after Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Alan Bollard was reported by local radio as saying the high value of the currency was not necessarily an impediment to raising interest rates to cap house prices.

"People are in two minds how to interpret it. There are good arguments on both sides for the RBNZ remaining dovish," said Westpac Bank markets strategist Imre Speizer.

Japanese government bond futures were 0.09 higher at 138.71 points, after a rise in U.S. Treasurys Tuesday.

LME three-month copper was $14 higher from the kerb at $6,430 a metric ton, supported by BHP's news on its Olympic Dam mine.

Spot gold was down 30 cents from New York at $1,054.40 a troy ounce, hindered by the euro's failure to break through the key $1.50 level. "As before, it's all about the U.S. dollar. When the dollar rose overnight, it proved gold is almost completely driven by the dollar's moves," said Darren Heathcote, head of trading at Investec.

Front-month Nymex crude oil futures were down 49 cents from New York, at $78.63 a barrel on Globex. Still, Citi Futures Perspectives analyst Tim Evans said the market was largely focused on "how high can it go" rather than "high stocks, weak demand, rising supply and a supply/demand surplus."