ASIA MARKETS: Asia Stocks Mostly Lower Ahead Of Fed Minutes

By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Most Asian stocks dropped in choppy trade Wednesday as investors awaited details of discussions at the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting to gauge when the U.S. central bank might pare its bond purchases.

The benchmark Nikkei Stock Average gave up early gains to drop 0.7% by late morning, while China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.7%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 1.2% and South Korea's Kospi shed 0.7%.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.1%, as an advance for banks helped overcome post-earnings declines for mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd. and energy producer Woodside Petroleum Ltd.

The release of the Fed minutes "will be crucial in determining whether the theme of bond-market volatility will continue, seeing yields possibly surge higher and place added pressure on global market participants," said Rivkin Securities analyst Tim Radford.

The performance in Asia came after the S&P 500 index (SPX)halted its longest losing streak of 2013 Tuesday, following better-than-expected earnings from retailers such as Best Buy Co. (BBY), although the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) dropped for a fifth straight trading day.

Shares of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TKECY) dropped 3.1% in Tokyo following media reports that a leak of about 300 metric tons (660,000 pounds) of highly radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant would prompt the government to declare the incident as "serious."

Several exporters also retreated as the yen strengthened against the U.S. dollar (USDJPY), with Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) falling 2%, and Fast Retailing Co. (FRCOY) declining 1.4%.

Several financial and property developers retreated in Hong Kong ahead of the Fed meeting minutes, with AIA Group Ltd. (AAGIY) falling 1.7%, and Hang Lung Properties Ltd. (HLPPY) dropping 2.8%.

Shares of Cnooc Ltd. (CEO) rose 3.6% in the downbeat market after its profit rose 7.9% in the first half of the year, driven by increased oil and gas output.

In Sydney, meanwhile, shares of BHP Billiton (BHP) fell 2.5% after the mining giant reported a 30% drop in profit for the fiscal year ended June 30 amid subdued commodity prices.

Woodside (WOPEY) also shed 2.5% after the energy producer cut its projection for full-year output, even as it posted a 7.5% increase in profit for the first half of the year.

But financials advanced to support the broader market, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBAUY) rising 0.8% to recover some recent losses, while Macquarie Group Ltd. (MQBKY) improved by 1.2%.

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