Market sentiment dragged in Asia on Wednesday ahead of the U.S. and China signing a phase one trade deal.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index faded 108.59 points, or 0.5%, to 23,916.58.
The Japanese yen changed hands at 109.92 per U.S. dollar, strengthening from around 110.01.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index retreated 111.55 points, or 0.4%, to 28,773.59
Australian markets bucked the downward trend and rose, with most sectors finishing up.
The Australian dollar was at 0.6899, falling back from the 0.69 level a day before.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 dropped 23.16 points, or 0.6%, to 4,166.73.
Officials from the U.S. and China are expected to sign the trade agreement on Wednesday after the two countries last month agreed to the deal in principle, where Washington said it would cancel or reduce some tariffs in exchange for China purchasing more American products and addressing U.S. concerns on areas of technology and financial services.
The deal is expected to include a commitment from China to buy about $200 billion of U.S. goods over two years, which includes about $80 billion in manufactured goods, $53 billion in energy, $32 billion in agriculture and $35 billion in services.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex slumbered 87.93 points, or 0.7%, to 12,091.88
In Korea, the Kospi index subtracted 7.9 points, or 0.4%, to 2,230.98
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index was lower 13.56 points, or 0.4%, to 3,256.98
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 51.54 points, or 0.4%, to 11,676.67
In Australia, the ASX 200 added 32.64 points, or 0.5%, to 6,994.84
