Markets fall as energy stocks sink

HONG KONG, June 20 (Reuters) Asian stocks slid on Tuesday as energy shares such as Australia's Woodside Petroleum fell on lower oil prices, while ongoing interest rate worries weighed on exporters like Japan's Canon Inc.

Oil dropped almost a dollar in U.S. trade to a barrel after major oil exporter Iran said there was a positive atmosphere in the dispute over its atomic work, easing supply concerns. U.S. crude was at .01 in early Asian trade.

Comments from Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Jack Guynn on Monday kept U.S. rate fears alive.

Guynn said U.S. core inflation, excluding volatile food and energy costs, has moved up to, or beyond, the upper end of the range he considers acceptable ''over time''. See By 0020 GMT, Tokyo's Nikkei average had fallen 0.52 percent as weakness in exporters such as Toyota Motor and Canon offset strength in top casual wear chain Fast Retailing, up 0.43 percent and Fuji Photo Film, up 0.53 percent.

''I expect the market to stay rangebound, with the Nikkei average moving within a range of 100 points up and down from the previous close,'' said Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager at Daiwa Securities SMBC's equity planning and administration department.

In South Korea, falls of 0.71 percent for Samsung Electronics, 2.19 percent for steel maker POSCO and 1.77 percent for top lender Kookmin Bank, dragged the benchmark KOSPI down 1.02 percent.

''U.S. markets have now fallen for two consecutive days and the North Korean missile issue has not yet been resolved,'' said Choo Hee-yeop, deputy general manager of asset management strategy at Korea Investment and Securities.

Australia's key S&P/ASX 200 index slid 0.79 percent on further declines in energy counters and the major miners after base metals fell on Monday.

BHP Billiton lost 2.01 percent, gold miner Newcrest Mining shed 1.76 percent while oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum fell 2.67 percent.

On Monday, U.S. blue chips fell 0.66 percent while the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.92 percent.

REUTERS PDS BST0625