Asian shares turned mixed on Wednesday as oil prices eased back below $50 a barrel, with Japanese stocks sliding for a ninth session while Australian shares resumed a record-breaking run After a late rally on Wall Street, buyers sought out communications firms such as Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. <9432.T> in Japan and miners such as BHP Billiton in Australia, as well as shipping firms with bright earnings prospects. But share markets were capped by losses among semiconductor and other technology firms amid ongoing concerns about potential disruptions to the worldwide oil supply. "Investors are still very cautious about Wall Street's outlook and oil prices," said Teruhisa Ishikawa, manager of investment information at Mizuho Investors Securities. "Unless oil prices show clear signs of falling, buyers will probably not return to the market." U.S. light crude traded five cents higher at $49.95 a barrel in the Asian day but was down from a record of $50.47 set on Tuesday. OPEC producer Saudi Arabia pledged to increase production, but supply concerns remained as rebels threatened Nigerian oil facilities.
The U.S. dollar steadied at 111.20 yen from 111.42 yen in late New York, remaining near a six-week high. Analysts said the yen was pressured by the perception that Japan, which imports most of its oil, could suffer the most from high energy prices. The euro fetched $1.2314 from $1.2319. Spot gold extended a five-week high, rising to $413.00 an ounce in Asian trade from $411.80 in late New York before slipping a bit.
EXPORTERS, TECHS DRAG DOWN NIKKEI
Japan's key Nikkei stock average <.N225> ended the morning session 0.2 percent lower at 10,795.45, led by exporters and technology stocks. Advantest Corp. <6857.T> was down 1.7 percent, while Honda Motor Co. Ltd. <7267.T> fell 1.1 percent. Investor confidence was fragile after weaker-than-expected retail sales data and ahead of the Bank of Japan's "tankan" corporate sentiment survey on Friday, analysts said. Japanese retail sales fell 1.8 percent in August from a year earlier, compared with a decline of 1.4 percent forecast by economists in a poll. Shares of NTT <9432.T> jumped 1.6 percent after it confirmed reports that it was considering an initial public offering for its real estate subsidiary NTT Urban Development Co. Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 stock index <.AXJO> rose 0.5 percent in morning trade, briefly touching 3,647.4 to eclipse a record set a week ago. The index was buoyed by strong gains in BHP Billiton , which moved up 3.2 percent after winning a $3.2 billion contract to supply additional iron ore to China. Fellow global miner Rio Tinto was also in demand, adding 2.4 percent. The benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield <0#JPTSY=JBTC> tacked on 2.5 basis points to 1.430 percent, a day after briefly touching a six-month low.
ASIAN STOCKS
The MSCI index of Asian share markets outside Japan <.MSCIAPJ> edged up 0.1 percent, led by a 1.1 percent gain in its metals component <.MSCIAPJMT>. Singapore's Straits Times Index <.STI> fell 0.2 percent. Singapore Airlines was 0.9 percent lower on concerns about rising fuel prices, which account for about a fifth of its operating costs. Taiwan's benchmark index <.TWII> fell 0.3 percent as the heavyweight semiconductor sector came under pressure from its U.S. counterparts. Petrochemical shares gained on the strength in oil prices. United Microelectronics Corp. <2303.TW> , the world's second-largest contract chip maker, dropped 0.7 percent. Formosa Petrochemical <6505.TW>, Taiwan's biggest oil refiner, rose 0.9 percent. Share markets in Hong Kong and South Korea were closed for national holidays. The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> closed up 0.89 percent at 10,077.40. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> ended up 0.54 percent at 1,869.87.///