Asian Shares Flat, Ignoring Weaker Oil By Christopher Kaufman SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian share markets were flat on Tuesday, ignoring weaker oil prices and a mild rise in U.S. stock markets, and the dollar paused as officials in Europe and Japan fretted about its recent decline. MSCI's World Index was slightly lower by 2145 EST, while the Nikkei average slipped 0.11 percent to 11,214.94 in morning trade. The MSCI index of Asian share markets outside of Japan was 0.23 percent lower. Banks and insurers gained in Japan, but profit-taking hit technology stocks such as Kyocera Corp. (6971.T: Quote , Profile , Research ) . Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (8411.T: Quote , Profile , Research ) , Japan's biggest banking group by assets, gained 0.9 percent and Millea Holdings Inc. (8766.T: Quote , Profile , Research ) , Japan's biggest casualty insurance company, jumped 3.23 percent. Weakness in Australian blue chips pulled the S&P ASX 200 off its all-time highs, dragging the main index down 0.33 percent. A 0.55 percent gain in Samsung Electronics (005930.KS: Quote , Profile , Research ) helped South Korea's KOSPI stay close to opening levels. NYMEX crude oil prices were lower and expected to fall below $46 a barrel as warmer weather breaks in the U.S. Northeast and after the suspension of a labor strike in Nigeria. U.S. light crude (CLc1: Quote , Profile , Research ) for December delivery was down 9 cents at $46.78 a barrel. On Monday, the contract fell to $45.25, the lowest since the level of $43.91 on Sept. 17. The dollar recovered from Monday's seven-month low versus the yen after a sharp fall in oil prices led traders to scale back their bloated dollar-selling positions. But analysts said the gain was a minor blip in the dollar's downward trend, as many in the market have adopted the view that Washington may want to see a weaker dollar to curb the widening U.S. current account deficit. "The fall in oil prices seemed to support the dollar," said Junya Tanase, strategist at JPMorgan Chase Bank. "It's natural to see an adjustment."     Continued ... Quelle "Asian Shares Flat, Ignoring Weaker Oil" : reuters.com Main page for "Asian Shares Flat, Ignoring Weaker Oil"