Asian stocks ended lower Wednesday, though China bucked that trend, as exporters such as Samsung Electronics Ltd. and Sony Corp. fell on renewed concerns about the outlook for U.S. growth.
In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index shed 110.32 points, or 0.64 percent, to finish at 17,254.73 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 152.92 points, or 0.8 percent, to 19,553.87.
Japanese steel, real estate developers and banking issues were the major losers.
Kobe Steel Ltd. fell 2.21 percent to 486 yen (US$4.15). Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. off 1.11 percent to 4,470 yen (US$38.21) and Resona Holdings Inc. slipped 0.95 percent to 314,000 yen (US$2,683.76).
Elsewhere:
BANGKOK: Thailand's share closed lower in moderate trade as funds dump blue chips taking cue from regional slide. The Stock Exchange of Thailand's SET index lost 9.53 points, or 1.4 percent, to 669.04.
JAKARTA: Indonesian shares fell, led by selling in car distributor Astra and nickel miner Inco. The Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite index closed 19.268 points, or 1 percent, down to 1,800.392.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's shares ended lower with the Composite Index of 100 blue chips losing 11.93 points, or 0.96 percent, to 1,235.24.
MANILA: Philippine shares slipped taking a cue from Wall Street, and as Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. dropped. The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index dropped 11.94 points, or 0.4 percent, at 3,162.81.
MUMBAI: Indian shares fell, in line with weak global markets, dragged by technology stocks which fell over concerns the rupee's appreciation against the U.S. dollar will hurt operating margins. The Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-stock Sensitive Index, or Sensex, lost 239.98 points, or 1.83 percent to 12,884.34.
SEOUL: South Korean shares fell on declines in brokerage and petrochemical stocks. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, fell 13.49 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1439.74.
SHANGHAI: Shanghai's benchmark index surged to its sixth new record high in a row as heavy buying of banks erased early losses from profit-taking. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.1 percent to 3,173.02. But the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 0.7 percent to 835.75.
SINGAPORE: Singapore shares fell amid nervousness about oil prices and declines on Wall Street overnight. The Straits Times Index fell 32.4 points, or 1 percent, to end at 3,201.8.
TAIPEI: Taiwan shares fell, hurt by a weak overnight performance on Wall Street. The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange fell 57.03 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 7,788.14.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand stocks ended weaker, steered by a more negative lead from offshore markets. The benchmark NZX-50 index fell 17.41 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,109.87.
SYDNEY: Australian stocks slipped with major banks and miners dragging the bourse into the red. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell 41 points, or 0.7 percent lower at 5,923.2.
With files from wire services
