Most Asia markets declined on Wednesday, tracking Wall Street's negative close overnight, with resources and financial shares under pressure.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan added 13.61 points, or 0.1%, to 18,432.20
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index lost 98.66 points, or 0.4%, to 23,825.88
In Japan, the commodity trading houses were lower, with Itochu shedding 0.8% and Mitsubishi Corp. losing 1.2%
Shares of Sharp surged 7.4% and Toshiba tacked on 4.9%. Kyodo News cited a Sharp executive as saying the company was considering investing in Toshiba's memory-chip business, according to Dow Jones.
Financial stocks around the region were lower, after Goldman Sachs earnings missed the mark and as bond yields fell amid as markets turned cautious and U.S. economic data disappointed.
Hong Kong-listed Geely Auto tacked on 6.4% after it launched earlier this week a Lynk & Co. brand SUV, which it plans to sell in China, North America and Europe.
Daiwa upgraded the stock to buy from outperform in a note on Tuesday, saying it expected the Lynk brand would help further improve profitability. The bank raised its 2018 and 2019 earnings per share forecasts by 7-19%.
In Australia, Westpac shed 1.1%, Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ was off 0.1% and South Korea's Hana Financial was down 1.2%. In afternoon trade, Hong Kong-listed shares of HSBC ended down 0.5% In Singapore, shares of DBS fell 0.8% in afternoon trade.
U.S.-North Korea tensions lingered. Vice President Mike Pence, arriving in Tokyo from South Korea, reassured Japan of American commitment to reining in North Korea's nuclear and missile ambitions on Tuesday, after warning that U.S. strikes in Syria and Afghanistan showed the strength of its resolve.
The Communist North has conducted a series of missile and nuclear tests in defiance of U.N. sanctions.
In Australia, some resources plays were lower. BHP ended essentially flat, while Newcrest lost 0.5%
In a note on Tuesday, Citi reiterated a bearish view on iron ore, although it raised its forecast for 2017 to $70.00 U.S. a tone from $65.00 U.S.
Additionally, Morgans said in a research note on Tuesday that it was downgrading Newcrest shares to hold from add, citing a "large seismic event" at its Cadia East mine last week, with the bank assuming a two-month production interruption.
It noted that Cadia accounted for 31% of the company's total production and 49% of the group's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).
In other markets
The CSI 300 in Shanghai dropped 16.55 points, or 0.5%, to 3,446.08
In Taiwan, the Taiex index faltered 106.62 points, or 1.1%, to 9,639.94
The Kospi Index in Korea slid 10.06 points, or 0.5%, to 2,138.40
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dropped 11.26 points, or 0.4%, to 3,126.28
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gave back 15.1 points, or 0.2%, to 7,218.51
In Australia, the ASX 200 index skidded 32.73 points, or 0.6%, to 5,804.01
