Markets mixed, commodity stocks shine

HONG KONG, April 11 (Reuters) Asian stock markets were mixed on Tuesday but commodity companies such as global miner BHP Billiton and energy developer INPEX Holdings rose on the back of a surge in metals and oil prices.

Copper and zinc set record highs and U.S. crude rallied 2 percent towards a barrel on Monday, while gold jumped above 0 an ounce to levels last seen in December 1980. Oil was at .68 in early Asian trade.

By 0025 GMT, Tokyo stocks were flat, up 0.01 percent, as top casual wear chain Fast Retailing added 1.3 percent, Toyota Motor put on 0.6 percent and INPEX advanced 2.4 percent.

Investors were also awaiting the outcome of the Bank of Japan's two-day interest rate meeting, which concludes later in the day.

''Rate-sensitive stocks, including real estate stocks, could be a focus a day after they were sold heavily,'' said Shinji Igarashi, equity manager at Chuo Securities.

Australia's key S&P/ASX 200 index added 0.66 percent as BHP climbed 1.8 percent, fellow global miner Rio Tinto rose 2.0 percent and oil producer Woodside Petroleum gained 2.2 percent.

Gold miner Newcrest Mining put on 0.9 percent after gold hit 0.40 an ounce for the first time since December 1980.

But in South Korea, weakness in Samsung Electronics and top lender Kookmin Bank knocked 0.43 percent off the benchmark KOSPI.

Steel maker POSCO rose 1.0 percent while flat panel maker LG.Philips LCD fell 1.2 percent ahead of their results.

''The rise in oil prices, along with the earnings results from POSCO and LG.Philips, could affect market sentiment and pressure shares,'' said Park Suk-hyun, an analyst at Kyobo Securities.

On Wall Street, U.S. blue chips edged 0.19 percent higher on Monday while the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.25 percent.

REUTERS DH BD0645