Markets down on oil worry, retailers fall

HONG KONG, Apr 12 (Reuters) Worries that higher oil prices will hurt consumption and corporate profits drove Asian stock markets lower on Wednesday, with Seoul plumbing a fresh 1-1/2-week low.

Retailers such as Japan's top casual wear chain, Fast Retailing, Australia's top retailer Coles Myer and South Korea's top discount store chain, Shinsegae, were all lower.

US crude rose on Tuesday to a high of .45 a barrel -- a level last seen in September 2005 and not far from the peak of .85 set last August as tensions over Iran's atomic programme grew. Oil was at .88 in early Asian trade.

''The risks that hurt shares in the first quarter, such as higher oil, have resurfaced,'' said Kim Jeong-hwan, a strategist at Woori Investment and Securities.

By 0025 GMT, Tokyo stocks had slid 0.58 percent as chip equipment maker Advantest Corp. fell 2.7 percent, Sony dropped 2.0 percent and Fast Retailing shed 0.9 percent.

Yutaka Miura, deputy manager of equity information at Shinko Securities said the fall in U.S. stocks was likely to spur selling in exporters and high-tech firms, which tended to be heavily influenced by the U.S. market.

In South Korea, the key KOSPI sagged 0.58 percent to 1,379.03 after earlier falling to a low of 1,372.24 -- a level last seen on April 3 -- on weakness in Samsung Electronics, top lender Kookmin Bank and Shinsegae.

Shares in LG.Philips LCD fell 1.2 percent a day after the flat screen maker posted a 48 billion won ( million) net profit in the first quarter, missing the average profit forecast of 52.3 billion won from a Reuters survey.

Also under pressure, Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index declined 0.86 percent as recent gainers such as BHP Billiton reversed direction while the big four banks, including National Australia Bank, all fell.

Coles Myer dipped 0.8 percent.

On Wall Street, blue chips dropped 0.46 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index slid 0.98 percent.

REUTERS DH BD0659