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 light steel Asian stock markets traded flat on Tuesday, as investors werereluctant to take any major decisions following a lacklustersession on Wall Street. The Nikkei 225 index closed listlessly at 14,348.37, down 0.04%, or6 points, from Monday, while the broader Topix edged up 0.02%, to1,401.98, after yen stabilized at 108.52 against the U.S. dollar. Steel makers fell after brokerages downgraded companies like JFE Holdings (other-otc: JFEEF - news - people ) (down 1.0%, to 5,760 yen [$53.21]) and Kobe Steel (other-otc: KBSTY - news - people ) (down 2.7%, to 327 yen [$3.02]), but investors sought bargainsfrom recently laggard stocks, such as shipping and utilitycompanies. Boosted by a retreat in the price of oil, Tokyo Electric Power (other-otc: TKECF - news - people ) rose 1.0%, to 2,605 yen ($24.16); Chubu Electric Power advanced 3.0%, to 2,400 yen ($22.21), while Kansai Electric Power (other-otc: KAEPF - news - people ) gained 2.0%, to 2,300 yen ($21.28). New York's main oil futures contract--light, sweet crude for Julydelivery--hit an all-time high of $139.89 a barrel on the New YorkMercantile Exchange on Monday, amid uncertainty over Saudi Arabia'spledge to increase production. But eventually the contract pricedived, closing at $134.61. In the electronic trading in Asia onTuesday afternoon, the benchmark crude oil price declined by afurther 13 cents, to $134.44 per barrel. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.95%, to 5,422.70, while the AllOrdinaries index gained 0.9%, to 5,525.90, amid speculative buyingin banks, which rebounded from an early sell-off. "There was talk that one of the big four [Australian] banks wasgoing to do a major rights issue but that hasn't been confirmed,"said Rick Klusman, head of institutional trading at AequsSecurities. National Australia Bank (other-otc: NABZY - news - people ) rose 1.5%, to 27.97 Australian dollars ($26.31); Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (other-otc: ANZBY - news - people ) added 1.8%, to 19.75 Australian dollars ($18.60); and St. George (other-otc: STGKY - news - people ) was up 1.8%, at 29.57 Australian dollars ($27.82).