HONG KONG - Asian markets mostly fell on Friday due to wariness about US and Japanese economic woes, with a soaring debut for insurer AIA and strong corporate results providing relief. Tokyo's Nikkei index closed down 1.75 per cent, or 163,58 points, at 9,202,45, Sydney ended 0.50 per cent, or 23.3 points, lower at 4,661.6 and Seoul fell 1.31 per cent, or 24.92 points, to 1,882.95. Hong Kong closed down 0.49 per cent, or 114.54 points, at 23,096.32, while Shanghai's Composite index was down 0.46 per cent, or 13.74 points, at 2,978.84. Wall Street offered only a weak lead Thursday, with the Dow index falling 0.11 per cent, the broader S&P 500 gaining 0.11 per cent and the tech-rich Nasdaq up 0.16 percent. Markets were generally cautious ahead of next week's US Federal Reserve meeting, expected to unveil some form of economic stimulus, and ahead of US third-quarter growth data due out later Friday. "Speculation over the magnitude of the second round of quantitative easing to be implemented by the US Federal Reserve... continued to prompt cautious trading in the Asian markets," Hong Kong-based securities firm Taifook was quoted by Dow Jones Newswires as saying. Tokyo was also hit by data showing industrial output slid a worse than expected 1.9 per cent in September from the previous month and consumer prices fell 1.1 per cent from a year earlier, their 19th straight month of decline. However strong earnings reports and forecasts helped limit losses, as Sony, Honda and Mitsubishi Electric both raised their full-year forecasts. A climbing yen however continued to exert pressure on Japan's export sector. The dollar fetched 80.65 yen in Tokyo, down from 80.98 in New York late Thursday. The euro changed hands at US$1.3883 dollars, compared with US$1.3929 dollars in New York and the single European currency declined to 111.95 yen from 112.86 yen. "Yen-buying sentiment against the dollar is getting stronger," said Daisuke Karakama, market economist at Mizuho Corporate Bank. "But the dollar-yen rate is still within an expected range." Hong Kong and Shanghai mostly moved in tandem, led by declines in Shanghai-listed mainland property developers, which have been hit by expectations of sustained government efforts to cool the sector. But shares in AIA, the Asian unit of troubled US insurer AIG, soared almost 17 per cent from their listing price thanks to interest from wealthy Hong Kongers and global investors such as Kuwait's sovereign fund. The offering could prove to be the second largest in the world this year after the mammoth Agricultural Bank of China listing. Seoul's stock market fell after data showed industrial output had unexpectedly contracted for a second straight month in September, falling 0.4 per cent from August. That overshadowed strong earnings results from Samsung Electronics and Kia Motors. On oil markets, crude prices slid below US$82 thanks to the dollar's gains against the euro, which makes oil less affordable for buyers holding other currencies. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, fell US$0.51 to US$81.67 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for December shed US$0.41 to US$83.18. Gold closed at US$1,339.50-US$1,340.50 an ounce in Hong Kong, up from Thursday's finish of US$1,325.00-US$1,326.00. In other markets: - Singapore closed up 0.42 per cent, or 13.12 points, at 3,142.62. Keppel Corp gained 2.99 per cent to reach 9.98 Singapore dollars and Olam International was up 1.95 per cent at 3.13. - Taipei fell 0.80 per cent, or 66.96 points, to 8,287.09. Formosa Plastics dropped 2.77 per cent to 87.8 Taiwan dollars and TSMC rose 0.16 per cent to 62.8. - Manila ended 0.19 per cent, or 8.05 points, higher at 4,268.74. Alliance Global gained 4.4 per cent to 11.34 pesos, but Cebu Pacific was off 0.5 per cent at 124.50 pesos and Philippine Long Distance Telephone fell 0.1 per cent to 2,678 pesos. - Wellington gained 0.45 per cent, or 14.89 points, to 3,304.89. Sky City rose 4.1 per cent to 3.02 New Zealand dollars and Restaurant Brands was up 0.7 per cent at 2.77. - Jakarta fell 0.10 per cent, or 3.51 points, to 3,635.32. - Kuala Lumpur climbed 0.41 per cent, or 6.22 points, to a fresh 33-month high of 1,505.66. Newly-listed Petronas unit Malaysian Marine and Heavy Engineering climbed 18.7 per cent to 4.51 ringgit while state energy firm TNB slid 0.8 per cent to 8.80 and Genting plantations dropped 1.2 per cent to 8.59. - Bangkok fell 2.77 points or 0.28 per cent to 984.46. Banpu lost 10.00 baht to 774.00, while PTT gained 1.00 baht to 303.00

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