Asian markets decline on lower commodities (AP) (17-11-2009)

BANGKOK – Asian stock markets fell on Tuesday on profit taking and the declining commodity prices.

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.

Among the region’s markets, 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.

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.

Source: AP