Asian markets mostly lower on profit taking as commodities retreat; Europe falls

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Asian markets mostly lower as commodities retreat

BANGKOK — Asian stock markets were mostly lower Tuesday as investors locked in recent gains and commodity prices retreated. European shares fell.

Benchmarks from Tokyo to London posted modest losses while oil slipped after a surge overnight and the dollar fell against the yen. Gold dropped from a record high hit the previous day.

President Barack Obama’s meetings Tuesday in Beijing with Chinese President Hu Jintao were closely watched but didn’t exercise the markets.

Wall Street rallied Monday on news U.S. retail sales rebounded more than expected in October, boosting confidence in economic recovery.

That enthusiasm didn’t spillover to Asia despite the retail figures auguring better demand from the world’s largest economy for the region’s cars, electronics and other mainstay exports.

Some Asian bourses have risen 70 percent or more so far this year, leaving little room for more gains. Besides, closer examination of the retail sales figures showed the increase was only half what economists predicted when autos were excluded.

As trading got underway in Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 was off 0.6 percent, Germany’s DAX declined 0.3 percent and France’s CAC-40 shed 0.4 percent. Stock futures pointed to a weak open Tuesday on Wall Street.

Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average lost 61.25 points, or 0.6 percent, to 9,729.93 with exporters hit by the appreciating yen. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 29.83, or 0.1 percent, to 22,914.15 after briefly rising above 23,000 earlier in the day and South Korea’s Kospi retreated 0.4 percent to 1,585.98.

Elsewhere, Australia’s benchmark faded 0.5 percent and Singapore’s market dropped 0.6 percent. China’s Shanghai index bucked the trend on optimism about the country’s economic recovery, gaining 0.2 percent to a 14-week high of 3,282.89.

“Investors are confident they will see better corporate earnings in line with the country’s rising economy,” said Lin Feng, an investment manager for Sinolink Securities in the western Chinese city of Chengdu.

In the U.S. on Monday the Dow advanced 136.49, or 1.3 percent, to 10,406.96 after rising nearly 164 points. The broader S&P 500 index rose 15.82, or 1.5 percent, to 1,109.30.

Oil prices hovered below $79 a barrel in Asia as investors looked to crude demand growth in Asia next year to offset a sluggish U.S. economy.

Benchmark crude for December delivery was down 40 cents to $78.51 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $2.55 to settle at $78.90 on Monday.

In currencies, the dollar fell to 88.86 yen from 89.09 yen. The euro slipped to $1.4943 from $1.4969.