HONG KONG, Oct 27, 2010 (AFP) - Stock markets mostly fell in Asia Wednesday on uncertainty about the US outlook and lower-than-forecast Australian inflation data that dampened rate-hike expectations.
Japan's Nikkei index ended up 0.10 percent, or 9.65 points, at 9,387.03, but Sydney closed down 0.85 percent, or 39.7 points, at 4,648.1 and Seoul was down 0.51 percent, or 9.87 points, at 1,909.54.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was off 1.60 percent by lunch and Shanghai was down 0.20 percent in the afternoon.
Tokyo was lifted by optimism about first-half earnings this week from major Japanese companies and a slightly stronger dollar, which helps the country's key export sector.
However Australian stocks fell after the announcement that annual inflation was at a lower-than-expected 2.8 percent, reducing the likelihood of a rate hike.
The news caused the Australian dollar to slip further from the record high reached earlier this month, when it briefly achieved parity with the greenback.
The Aussie dropped more than half a US cent and was trading at 97.30 US cents.
Sentiment in Hong Kong was muted ahead of a meeting next week of the US Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee that is expected to unveil new stimulus measures to boost the country's jobless recovery.
Expectations of further US quantitative easing helped push up Asian markets earlier this month, but this effect has tailed off amid uncertainty about the degree of US central bank intervention.
Commodity producers were down in Hong Kong and on the mainland due to worries that a strengthening dollar would hit their sales.
Major player China Coal lost ground in Hong Kong after a long rally, as did oil and gas companies such as Sinopec. Car maker BYD Auto dived 8.32 percent after results pointed to a 99 percent plunge in profits year-on-year for the three months to September.
"The market has been awaiting a reason to consolidate and the dollar strength may continue to exert pressure on commodity prices, hence stocks, near-term," Daniel So, analyst at Sun Hung Kai Financial, told Dow Jones Newswires.
Wall Street closed barely higher on Tuesday after data showed a slight improvement in consumer confidence and sentiment was lifted by positive corporate earnings data. A strengthening dollar put paid to any hopes of larger gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.05 percent, while the Nasdaq rose 0.26 percent.
The Conference Board consumer confidence index for October -- a pivotal indicator of US economic health -- stood at 50.2, up from 48.6 in September, beating analysts' consensus forecast of 49.0.
Japan's currency has this month neared its post-war high of 79.75 to the dollar reached in 1995. But on Wednesday the greenback was changing hands at around 81.74 yen, up from 81.43 in New York late Tuesday.
The euro fetched 1.3817 dollars, down from 1.3857 dollars in New York. It bought 112.96 yen from 112.68 Tuesday.
On oil markets a predicted surge in US crude inventory data dragged down prices in Asian trade, analysts said.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, fell 47 cents to 82.08 dollars a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for December dipped 38 cents to 83.28 dollars.
Gold opened at 1,339.00-1,340.00 US dollars an ounce in Hong Kong, up from Tuesday's close of 1,335.00-1,336.00 dollars.
In other markets:
-- Manila closed 0.13 percent higher, or 5.54 points, at 4,285.07.
Top-traded Cebu Pacific airlines, which made its debut on the exchange Tuesday, fell 1.5 percent to 131 pesos. But Banco de Oro Unibank gained 1.58 percent to 60.95 pesos while Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. rose 4.62 percent to 79.25 pesos.
-- Taipei fell 0.63 percent, or 52.19 points, to 8,291.04.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co was 0.48 percent lower at 62.0, while MediaTek, the island's leading integrated circuit design house, fell 2.54 percent to 383.0.
-- Wellington fell 0.16 percent, or 5.10 points, to 3,280.34.
Telecom NZ closed down 1.5 percent at 2.04 New Zealand dollars, Air New Zealand was steady at 1.34 and Fletcher Building slipped 0.8 percent to 8.02.
