HONG KONG - Asian stock markets slipped Wednesday following the previous day's gains, with investors taking their lead from losses on Wall Street as the dollar edged down against the yen.
US oil prices moved higher following a report that Washington had decided to start exporting crude for the first time in four decades.
Tokyo slipped 0.71 per cent, or 109.63 points, to 15,266.61, Sydney eased 0.57 per cent, or 30.78 points, to 5,402.0 and Seoul gave up 0.63 per cent, or 12.58 points, to close at 1,981.77.
Shanghai retreated 0.41 per cent, or 8.43 points, to 2,025.50 and Hong Kong was a touch lower, dipping 13.94 points to 22,866.70 With few catalysts to drive trade, investors took the opportunity to cash in gains fuelled earlier this week by data indicating China's manufacturing sector is creaking back into gear after contracting for six months.
The main lead came from New York, where all three of the city's main indexes slipped Tuesday despite another strong set of indicators.
The US Conference Board said consumer confidence rose for the second straight month in June to its highest level since January 2008, when the economy was sinking into recession.
It also found consumers were more positive about the jobs outlook and had greater expectations overall for the next six months.
Separately, the Commerce Department said sales of new homes in May hit their highest pace since 2008. Sales surged 18.6 per cent month-on-month to 504,000 units as the country moved out of the winter lull. Sales were also nearly 17 per cent higher year-on-year.
However, the Dow sank 0.70 per cent and the S&P 500 fell 0.64 per cent after ending last week at record highs, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.42 per cent The selling in equities seeped into currency markets, where the dollar dipped against the yen.
The greenback was at 101.90 yen in afternoon trade, compared with 101.98 yen in New York Tuesday. The euro bought US$1.3611 and 138.72 yen against US$1.3606 and 138.75 yen.
On oil markets, US crude prices - already at nine-month highs - edged up owing to the ongoing crisis in Iraq, where insurgents have captured swathes of territory in a lightning offensive that began on June 9.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTA) rose 17 cents to US$106.20 while Brent crude eased 65 cents to US$113.81.
WTI was given an extra push following a report in the Wall Street Journal that the Obama administration had given two firms approval to export crude from the United States for the first time since the early 1970s.
The Commerce Department will permit the two Texas-based companies to export the ultra-light condensate, which has grown in supply on the back of the boom in fracking-based exploration and production of natural gas, the report said.
The move comes as a surge in production from shale-based deposits at home has cut the need for imports and created regional surpluses due to distribution bottlenecks.
Gold fetched US$1,312.60 an ounce at 1045 GMT in Asia compared with US$1,323.70 late Tuesday.
In other markets: - Mumbai fell 0.22 per cent, or 55.16 points, to 25,313.74 points.
YES Bank fell 2.87 per cent to 541.90 rupees, while Petronet LNG fell 2.55 per cent to 181.50 rupees.
- Bangkok gained 0.52 per cent, or 7.57 points, to 1,468.49.
Bangchak Petroleum added 1.77 per cent to 28.75 baht, while telecoms company True Corporation fell 1.55 per cent to 9.50 baht.
- Singapore fell 0.02 per cent, or 0.49 points, to 3,261.54.
SingTel rose 1.04 per cent to Sg$3.87 while DBS bank fell 0.5 per cent to Sg$16.76.
- Jakarta closed down 0.48 per cent, or 23.26 points, at 4,838.98.
Hero Supermarket fell 0.37 per cent to 2,690 rupiah, while Bank Negara Indonesia gained 0.10 per cent at 4,785 rupiah.
- Kuala Lumpur fell 0.15 per cent, or 2.78 points, to 1,889.55.
Budget carrier AirAsia slipped 0.9 per cent to 2.21 ringgit, while SapuraKencana Petroleum lost 1.1 per cent to 4.36. Plantation giant Sime Darby gained 0.4 per cent to 9.66 ringgit.
- Taipei was flat, edging down 4.04 points to 9,242.16.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. rose 0.41 per cent to Tw$123.5 while Hon Hai fell 1.73 per cent to Tw$96.5.
- Wellington fell 0.33 per cent, or 16.66 points, to 5,104.54.
Air New Zealand was down 2.64 per cent at NZ$2.21 and Contact Energy was up 0.19 per cent at NZ$5.21.
- Manila closed 0.61 per cent higher, adding 41.61 points to 6,834.68.
Metropolitan Bank and Trust rose 2.88 per cent to 89.45 pesos and Philippine Long Distance Telephone gained 1.12 per cent to 2,900.00 pesos, while SM Investments ended up 1.04 per cent at 826.50 pesos.