By Chris Oliver, MarketWatch HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian stocks ended weaker Wednesday, with markets in Japan and Sydney tilting lower as energy stocks retreated after crude-oil prices slipped below $60 a barrel. Sentiment was tinged by caution following a weaker U.S. session that saw automotive shares hurt by mounting concerns over the health of the industry. Notable movers included Inpex Corp. , whose shares fell 5.4% after the oil and gas explorer reduced its fiscal year profit outlook by 15%. The firm said it now expects an operating profit of 723 billion yen ($7.4 billion), and has based its assumptions on average Brent oil prices of $65 a barrel, down from its previous estimate of $95. BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group (AU:FMG: news, chart, profile) led mining shares down on the back of overnight falls in industrial commodity prices. Shares of the two Sydney-listed firms ended down 1.5% and 11% respectively. Japan's Nikkei 225 index ended 1.3% lower at 8,695.51. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.9% to 3,927.30 and New Zealand's NZX-50 index fell 1% to 2,772.19. South Korea's Composite Index, or Kospi, failed to holder earlier gains, slipping 0.4% at 1,123.86. Elsewhere, China's Shanghai Composite side-stepped the regional downtrend to emerge as the only major market to end in positive territory. The index climbed 0.8% to 1,859.11. Investors were encouraged by data showing retail sales in October climbed 22% on year, in line with expectations. This suggests dipping property prices and easing GDP growth has so far had little impact upon consumer spending habits. Hong Kong's key index, the Hang Seng Index, ended 0.7% lower at 13,939.09. The H-share index, a benchmark of China shares listed in Hong Kong whose base of operations are primarily on the mainland, ended little changed at 7,134.54. Alex Tang, head of research at brokerage Core Pacific-Yamaichi in Hong Kong, said the robust spending indicates domestic consumption has yet to catch much of a chill from the global slowdown. "It looks like China is the least affected," Tang said, referring to the world's leading economies grappling with the financial bust. "The October [retail] figure is quite encouraging." Tang said Beijing's fiscal stimulus plan announced last weekend, coupled with softer inflation data earlier this week and today's robust retail sales data, mark an important shift in the fortunes of mainland stocks. He forecasts the H-share index of Hong Kong-listed China stocks will rally 28% by year-end. In other regional action, Singapore's Strait Times Index eased 1.7%, Indonesia's JSX Composite fell 0.7%, Malaysia's KLSE composite index was down 0.5% and Thailand's SET fell 1.5%. India's Sensex was down 3.1% at 9.536.33. "We are not seeing panic, but there is a clear lack of support and lack of interest," said Benjamin Collett, head of hedge fund trading at Daiwa Securities SMBC in Hong Kong. Taiwan's Taiex index was also lower, shedding 0.9% to 4,598.13. In Taipei Tuesday, former President Chen Shui-bian was arrested and led away in handcuffs as part of a corruption probe, marking the first time a former Taiwanese leader has faced detention. In Tokyo action, shares of synthetic fiber maker and chemicals group Mitsubishi Rayon Co. jumped 11.4% after the company Tuesday said it had secured an agreement to buy out U.K. counterpart L Lucite International for $1.6 billion in cash. Mitsubishi Corp. led Japanese trading houses lower, with its shares falling 8.1% amid the slide in crude prices. Trading houses such as Mitsubishi have stakes in oil and gas projects and their shares tend to track energy prices. Alibaba.com's Hong Kong-listed shares jumped 13% after the firm, which provides listings for small and mid-sized companies that want to sell overseas, reported Tuesday a 49% rise in third-quarter net income and said it expects to grow its workforce by 30% to 40% in the coming year. Hong Kong-listed shares of Melco International Development jumped 17.6% as investors judged the Macau casino operator a winner from Las Vegas Sand Corp.'s plans to suspend a portion of a $12 billion hotel and casino development. Shares in NTT DoCoMo's , Japan's biggest cellular service provider, rose 1.3% after the Nikkei newspaper reported Wednesday it will purchase a 26% stake in India's Tata Teleservices for 260 billion yen ($2.7 billion). DoCoMo confirmed the deal in an announcement after the market close. On the futures market, light sweet crude oil was trading at $57.82 a barrel, down as much as $1.51 from overnight levels. The front-month energy contract fell $3.08, or 4.9%, to close at $59.33 a barrel Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Against the Japanese currency, the U.S. dollar was quoted at 97.22 yen in late Tokyo, compared to 97.59 yen late Tuesday in New York.

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