(RTTNews) - The Asian markets showed more weakness on Wednesday, with participants indulging in some heavy selling following a mixed close on Wall Street overnight. With a slew of earnings and economic reports due for release during the course of this week, investors trimmed their long positions fearing further correction in stock prices.

After Tuesday’s disappointing consumer confidence report from the U.S., investors awaited economic data on durable goods and housing sales for signs of recovery in the world’s largest economy.

The Japanese market fell for a second straight day, weighed down by a stronger yen. The benchmark Nikkei fell 137 points or 1.35% to 10,075, a two-week low, while the broader Topix of all first section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 0.75% to 889.

Technology stocks fell as the yen strengthened and a weaker-than-expected U.S. consumer confidence hurt sentiment. Camera maker Canon fell 3.35% on disappointing earnings and Toshiba slumped 4.60% after revealing plans to invest 25 billion yen to build a new lithium-ion battery plant in northern Japan.

However, Honda Motor advanced 3.34% after surprising analysts with better-than-expected annual profit forecasts.

Ship operators declined on poor earnings. Mitsui OSK Lines fell 2.18%, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha tumbled 4.53% and Nippon Yusen ended down 2.59%

In economic news, Japan’s Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said on Tuesday that the Bank of Japan’s economic assessment is overly upbeat and varies from the current state of the economy. Addressing heads of the regional branches of the ministry, Fujii said regional assessments were more down to earth than those of the BoJ.

After a nearly 3% fall yesterday, China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A shares and B shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, rose a modest 0.33% or 10 points to 3,031, boosted by gains in auto, coal and securities stocks. Jiangling Motors Corp rallied over 4%, Yanzhou Coal Mining rose over 3% and Guoyuan Securities surged up nearly 7%.

Aviation stocks such as Hainan Airlines and China Southern Airlines also showed notable gains after three major carriers reported healthy third-quarter earnings. Commodity-related stocks rebounded, while banking stocks closed mixed and steel makers suffered heavy losses.

Chinese industrial profits slipped 9.1% in the first nine months of 2009, the National Bureau of Statistics reported Wednesday. Industrial profits had decreased 13.1% during January to August.

However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell by 408 points or 1.84% to 21,762, dragged down by property and auto stocks. Weak overseas cues on concerns China may reverse its accomodative monetary policy weighed on market movement. Wynn Macau fell over 7% after its parent Wynn Resorts gave a gloomy outlook. Market heavyweight HSBC Holdings fell 1.25%.

South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI fell 40 points or 2.41% to 1,610, its lowest closing since Oct 7, weighed down by heavy selling by foreign funds. On a net basis, overseas investors offloaded shares worth KRW274.2 billion, while they sold 10,911 contracts in the futures market. Volume was moderate at 363 million shares worth 5.34 trillion won with decliners outnumbering gainers by 691 to 132.

Shipbuilders such as Hyundai Heavy bore the brunt of the selling following disappointing earnings. Bluechip stock Samsung Electronics fell 3% ad LG Electronics tumbled 3.8% Auto makers, including Kia Motors and Hyundai Motor, and steel makers such as POSCO also ended sharply lower.

Korea’s current account surplus more than doubled in September from August, supported by a surge in the goods surplus, and a lowering of services and current transfers deficits, the Bank of Korea said Wednesday.

The Australian market fell sharply, dragged down by financial and materials stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 fell 68 points or 1.44% to 4,685 and the broader All Ordinaries index closed at 4,687, down 1.42%.

Weakening metals prices weighed on miners. Big miner BHP Billiton fell 1.16%, its rival Rio Tinto gave off 1.41% and Fortescue Metals Group eased 2.31%. Gold miner Newcrest and Lihir Gold fell as gold priced dipped.

National Australian Bank fell nearly 3% after expressing caution over the outlook, ANZ ended down 1.68% ahead of its earnings report on Thursday, Commonwealth Bank tumbled around 4%, Westpac Banking declined 2% and investment bank Macquarie Group fell 2.40%.

Building materials group James Hardie Industries ended up 0.57% following a 4% loss in the previous session. Retailer Wesfarmers fell 1.48% and Harvey Norman declined 1.90%, but Woolworths edged up 0.24%

In the petroleum sector, Woodside Petroleum fell 2.44% and Oil Search slipped 1.66%, while Santos rose 0.33%.

Defensive stock Telstra Corp advanced 1.54%, Foster’s Group rose 0.36% and CSL added 0.38%. Babcock & Brown Infrastructure rose 2.86% after receiving an approval from the federal government for a recapitalization deal with cornerstone investor Brookfield Asset Management.

In economic news, Australia’s consumer prices rose at a slower yearly pace in the three months ended September, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday. However, on a quarterly basis, consumer prices climbed at a faster pace than in the previous quarter.

The New Zealand market ended modestly up, reversing its initial loss. The benchmark NZX-50 closed at 3,203, up 10 points or 0.32%.

Market heavyweight Telecom rallied 2.41% on a volume of over 11 million shares. Telstra rose 1.54% after reaffirming its profit outlook. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rose 0.33%, Trustpower added 1.33% and resin maker Nuplex advanced 0.84% after announcing healthy earnings out of its Asian operations.

However, Fletcher Building edged down 0.12%, ANZ fell 1.68% and Contact Energy slipped 0.16%. Auckland Airport closed flat , while PGG Wrightson advanced 3.28% ahead of their annual meetings on Thursday.

On the economic front, the latest Business Outlook report from the National Bank showed business confidence held near the previous month’s high in October.

On Wall Street, stocks moved in a choppy fashion on Tuesday, as data showed U. S. consumer confidence deteriorated in October, indicating restrained consumer spending. The Dow edged up 0.14%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell by 1.23%. and the S&P 500 slipped 0.33%.

However, crude oil prices closed higher on Tuesday after the S&P/Case-Shiller home- price index showed that home prices climbed in August, bolstering optimism about an economic rebound in the world’s largest economy. Light sweet crude for December ended at $79.55, up 87 cents on the session.

Crude oil is presently quoted at $79.02 a barrel, down 0.67% ahead of inventory data from the U.S. Energy Administration.

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