By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian markets were unsettled Thursday on concerns about the fate of a $14 billion government loan package for the U.S. auto industry. The U.S. House of Representatives approved the legislation Thursday morning Asia time, but it faced an uncertain fate in the Senate because of Republican opposition. See full story. Shares of Asian auto and tire makers, many of whom derive a large part of their sales revenue from the U.S., were mixed. Bridgestone Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co. were among decliners, while Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. bounced off early lows. "People are watching what's going to happen to the U.S. auto bailout package," said Yoji Takeda, head of Asian equities at RBC Investment. "If it fails, then it's going to be pretty negative ... But I guess people still expect it to go through with some struggle." Takeda said the phase of "forced liquidation" in the broad market was likely over and investors were in the wait-and-watch mode ahead of the holidays later this month. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 Average was little changed at 8,662.51 in afternoon trading, after advancing for three straight sessions. The broader Topix index rose 0.9% to 841.69. South Korean stocks advanced for a fifth straight session after the country's central bank slashed a key interest rate for the fourth time in two months, by a deeper-than-expected one percentage point to 3%. The Kospi was recently up 0.5% to 1,156.57 in response to the central bank's rate cut to support a rapidly slowing economy. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose 0.1% to 15,599.51 and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index added 0.7% to 8,568.66, with both indexes reversing early losses. China's Shanghai Composite slipped 0.3% to 2,072.69. Data released earlier in the day showed the country's consumer price inflation eased to 2.4% in November from the same month a year earlier and from 4% in October. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gave up 1.7% to 3,579.70 and New Zealand's NZX 50 index rose 0.6% to 2,729.42. Singapore's Straits Times Index slipped 0.7% and Taiwan's Taiex gave up 0.4%. Regional detail Shares of tire maker Bridgestone lost 1.4% in Tokyo, while Hyundai Motor ) gave up 2.3% in Seoul. Shares of Toyota Motor Corp. recently rose 1.7%, while Nissan Motor Co. gained 0.3%. The automakers as well as Bridgestone, the world's largest tire maker, have a big presence in the U.S. market, where Toyota is the second-largest seller behind General Motors Corp. . Shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group gained 7.1% after Kyodo news service reported the banking giant plans to raise about 700 billion yen ($7.53 billion) in capital by issuing preferred securities. Energy related shares broadly advanced in the wake of an increase in crude-oil prices overnight, with Inpex Corp. gaining 6% in Tokyo and Cnooc climbing 5% in Hong Kong. January crude-oil futures added as much as 27 cents to $43.79 a barrel in electronic trading, after climbing $1.45 to $43.52 a barrel Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Shares of Rio Tinto climbed 7.8% in Sydney after the mining giant said would cut 14,000 jobs, slash 2009 capital expenditure and pare debt to conserve cash and lower costs amid weakening demand in a global economic downturn. See full story. In Asian currency trading, the U.S. dollar bought 92.61 yen, compared with 92.80 yen late Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 0.8% up at 8,761.42, well off an earlier high of 8,879. The S&P 500 index added 1.2% to 899.24 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.2% to 1,565.48.

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