Asian shares closed mostly lower in Wednesday trade, shrugging off the positive tone on Wall Street, as the dollar held firm in the wake of Turkey's currency crisis.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 retreated 151.86 points, or 0.7%, to 22,204.22, following the last session's near 500-point bounce. Most sectors finished the day lower, with the oil and coal products sector among the worst-performing, while financials and technology also recorded declines. Among heavyweights, SoftBank Group dropped 2.6% and Fast Retailing slipped 0.5% for the day.
Against the yen, the U.S. dollar extended gains to trade at 111.21
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng stumbled 429.34 points, or 1.6%, to 27,323.59, with losses in tech and materials weighing on the index. Amid the broad declines, tech giant Tencent sank 3.2%, extending losses after Tuesday's news that it had pulled a video game from one of its platforms.
In individual movers, Hong Kong-listed shares of Wynn Macau lost 4.3%, after Jefferies on Tuesday downgraded Wynn Resorts to hold, from buy. Other casino stocks in Hong Kong also fell, with Melco International Development falling 3.2% before the market close.
Australian stocks firmed through the session. The heavily weighted financials sector, however, came under pressure, weighed down by Commonwealth Bank of Australia's 2.5% fall amid an ongoing financial sector inquiry in the country.
Meanwhile, Australian biotechnology company CSL bounced 6.4% after reporting full-year net profit rose 29% to $1.73 billion for the 12 months ending June 30. The company expected net profit for the 2019 financial year to grow between 10% and 14% compared to 2018.
The Turkish lira firmed during Wednesday Asia trade after firming some 8% in the last session. The currency traded at 6.2080 to the U.S. dollar, compared to the record low of 7.24 set earlier this week.
The lira's recent steep fall was triggered last week by increased U.S.-Turkey tensions over the detention of an American pastor in Turkey, but weakness in the currency also came against the backdrop of economic issues faced by the country.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 lost 80.93 points, or 2.4%, to 3,391.98, with health care and consumer stocks among the worst-performing sectors.
This decline came a day after the release of expectation-missingfixed asset investment and industrial output data on Tuesday.
In other markets
Korean markets were shuttered for holiday
In Singapore, the Straits Times STI index fell 8.75 points, or 0.3%, to 3,234.12
In Taiwan, the Taiex index tumbled 107.48 points, or 1%, to 10,716.75
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 15.55 points, or 0.2%, to 8,987.49
In Australia, the ASX 200 added 29.39 points, or 0.5%, to 6,329.02
