Asian resource stocks hit by slowdown Asian shares fell on profit-taking after recent sharp gains, with commodity-related shares hit as investors were disappointed by some US corporate earnings and Japan's trade data. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index, however, inched up 0.1 per cent to 9,010.71 in spite of the data. It showed exports fell 10.3 per cent in September due to the slowdown in global growth, the strong yen and territorial disputes with China. Capital goods manufacturers were hardest hit on the Nikkei, with industrial robot maker Fanuc, down 2.5 per cent to Y12,960, while earth-moving equipment maker Komatsu fell 2.4 per cent to Y1,710. Support for Japanese stocks came, however, from hopes of further growth-boosting measures after economy minister Seiji Maehara said the country was falling behind in monetary stimulus. Sharp was top gainer, up 7.4 per cent to Y160 after it said it had started production of a new display panel it hopes will turn the struggling business around. The company said it was already in talks with Dell and Hewlett-Packard about supplying the new technology. Chinese shares also managed gains, as the Hang Seng index climbed 0.7 per cent to 21,697.55, boosted by property stocks, and the Shanghai Composite nudged 0.2 per cent higher to 2,132.8 on gains for banks. Longfor Properties and Greentown China were lifted after Goldman Sachs added the two companies to its "conviction buy" Asia list. Longfor rose 1.1 per cent to HK$13.10, while Greentown jumped 7.5 per cent to HK$9.50. China Mobile climbed 1.1 per cent to HK$85.45 after its third-quarter net profit rose 1.3 per cent to Rmb31.1bn ($4.9bn), beating market forecasts. The FTSE Asia Pacific index edged 0.3 per cent lower, however, to 239.04 as commodity-related stocks suffered some heavy losses. Those regional indices most exposed were lower, with Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 down 0.7 per cent to 4,541 due to its heavy weighting of resource stocks. Mineral Sands miner Iluka Resources fell 3.2 per cent to A$10.46, while Rio Tinto lost 2.4 per cent to A$57.75 and Fortescue Metals lost 2.1 per cent to A$4.14. The biggest loss came from Treasury Wine Estates after the world's second-largest wine producer said its first-half earnings were likely to fall 20 per cent. The shares fell 7.3 per cent to A$5.10.