Asian markets mostly lower as China stocks fall

TOKYO — Asian markets were mostly lower Tuesday as a tumble in Chinese stocks tempered optimism from US aluminum maker Alcoa's earnings. A slew of American companies would release quarterly results in the coming weeks and Alcoa's result spurred hopes that the earnings season will provide reassuring signs of recovery in the world's biggest economy. But news from China was less encouraging with property prices falling for the first time in 18 months, in a sign that government tightening measures are having an effect. That's good news for policymakers who hope to avoid a property bubble but has also raised concerns among investors that China's rapid rebound from the global recession could slow. The Shanghai Composite index retreated 1.8 percent to 2,459.65 as investors sold property developers and banks, which have lent heavily to the property sector. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average was off 0.2 percent at 9,533.33 and South Korea's Kospi was little changed at 1,734.96. Elsewhere, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.4 percent to 4,392.20 while markets in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand rose. In New York on Monday, stocks finished just slightly higher as investors grew cautious ahead of second-quarter earnings reports. But they got some good news after trading ended when Alcoa reported upbeat results. The manufacturing giant kicked off earnings season by reporting net income of $136 million, or 13 cents share, for the quarter ending June 30. That compared with a loss of $454 million, or 47 cents a share, a year ago. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.2 percent to 10,216.27. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.1 percent, to 1,078.75, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 1.91, or 0.1 percent, to 2,198.36. In currencies, the dollar fell to 88.49 yen from 88.63 yen late Monday. The euro slipped to $1.2588 from $1.2591. Benchmark crude for August delivery was down 30 cents at $74.65 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost $1.14 to settle at $74.95 on Monday. ─AP