HONG KONG -- Asian exporter shares fell Wednesday as oil rose to $117 a barrel and developed economies sputtered, though investors found some value in energy stocks and companies dependent on domestic growth.

Shares in Hong Kong and Taiwan rose while markets in Japan and Singapore all dipped, though losses were modest.

Oil prices climbed for a third day, supported by fears tropical storm Gustav, downgraded from a hurricane, could damage crude and natural gas assets in the Gulf of Mexico. Although prices are about $30 below record highs hit in July, this week's move back higher is a reminder of corporate Asia's vulnerability to cost pressures.

The US dollar fell after hitting a six-month high against the euro on Tuesday, as dealers closed out of short-term bets on further strength after the currency did not extend gains in Asia.

Reports overnight generally reflected differing degrees of weakness in Europe and the United States, with sentiment on German business activity at a three-year low and US new home sales that were lower than expected but up from the prior month.

Big exporter stocks like Honda Motor Co. and Samsung Electronics weighed on their respective indexes. Citi slashed its 2008 and 2009 profit forecasts for consumer gadgets maker Samsung by 26 and 29 percent, respectively, citing falling prices and high marketing costs.

Japan's Nikkei share average was down 0.2 percent, creeping back down toward a five-month low touched on Friday.

"There are some news relevant for specific stocks but we don't see any new factors to impact the overall market, either positive or negative," said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, head of investment information department at SMBC Friend Securities in Tokyo.

Outside Japan, stocks in the Asia-Pacific region were up 0.8 percent but within sight of a 17-month low hit last week Thursday, according to an MSCI index.

A BEIJING BOOST?

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.7 percent, boosted by shares of China Life Insurance, which rallied after the country's biggest life insurer posted a smaller-than-expected decline in first-half profits.

Index heavyweight China Mobile Ltd., the world's largest wireless operator, posted a 51-percent rise in quarterly profit, more than analysts expected.

Stocks listed on the Shanghai composite index fell 1.3 percent. It is down just over 50 percent so far this year, making it the worst performing major equity market in the world.

The Chinese stock market has been locked in a downward spiral, weighed partly by expectations for slowing growth but also by investor unease about a massive amount of previously untraded company shares that are scheduled to turn public.

Donald Straszheim, a China analyst, said in a note to clients the Chinese government will likely step in to help the market.

"The most likely course is for Beijing to create yet another mechanism that limits the unlocking for a few more years. It will need to be several years or it will not be sufficiently protective of current investors to lift sentiment on a sustained basis," said Straszheim, vice chairman of Roth Capital Partners in Los Angeles.

Global stock markets are in a downward trend and hit a near two-year low on Tuesday, according to the MSCI all-country world index. But there are reasons for cautious optimism.

Short interest, essentially bets on falling asset prices, dipped on the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange in the first half of August, suggesting investor sentiment that the worst of the market downturn may be over. In particular, investors cut short positions in financial shares, and increased their bets against some Canadian resources stocks.

The euro rose 0.5 percent to about $1.4720, bouncing from an overnight low of around $1.4570. The dollar fell 0.6 percent against the yen to 108.98 yen, off more than a yen from a seven-month high of around 110.66 yen two weeks ago.

US light crude rose 77 cents to $117.04 a barrel having recovered more than $5.00 from a three-month low plumbed on August 15.

Gold prices, which traded in the opposite direction of the US dollar in recent weeks, rose 0.5 percent in the spot market to $827.80 an ounce.