Asian markets mostly higher after positive economic reports

Asian stock markets were mostly higher Wednesday after figures from China and Japan showed the region's two biggest economies were on track to recovering from the global downturn.But the region's advance, its fourth in a row, appeared to slow as investors tread cautiously following recent gains and a lackluster session on Wall Street. The dollar and oil prices slipped modestly.Adding to positive signs in Asia, Japan's core machinery orders, a closely watched indicator of corporate capital spending, jumped 10.5 percent in September, marking the second straight month of gains.Japan's Nikkei stock average was higher in the morning before trading nearly flat at 9,871.68, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.7 percent to 22,421.20. Although Hong Kong shares were still higher than the previous day's close, the surge seen in recent sessions, encouraged by a rally on Wall Street, was running out of steam, Chan said.China's Shanghai benchmark was off 0.1 percent after eight straight gains, while South Korea's market added 0.6 percent.