Japanese stocks edged lower Thursday after a three-day advance, with selling focused on real estate, department store and consumer finance shares.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index fell 8.15 points, or 0.05 percent, to finish at 17,696.97 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The previous three days, the market had risen 1.74 percent.
Chinese stocks wobbled then dipped Thursday after former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan voiced concern about an eventual correction in China's red-hot stock markets. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.5 percent to 4,151.13 in volatile trading. It gained 0.8 percent early in the day, topping 4,200 for the first time, but then sank by as much as 1.2 percent later in the morning.
Elsewhere:
Stock markets in Hong Kong and South Korea were closed in observance of Buddha's birthday.
TAIPEI: Taiwanese shares inched lower Thursday, ending a three-day rise that took the key index to a near seven-year high. The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange fell 5.38 points, or 0.06 percent, to close at 8216.41 points.
MANILA: Philippine shares rose Thursday, with gains edging out profit-taking in Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and San Miguel Corp. The benchmark 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index advanced 4.21 points, or 0.1 percent, to 3,470.77, following Wednesday's 1.1 percent slide.
SYDNEY: Australian stocks fell sharply Thursday as weaker metal prices dragged down major mining stocks, and investors cashed in profits after the market's strong recent rise. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell 76 points, or 1.2 percent, to 6,279.1 while the All Ordinaries index dumped 70.4 points to 6,298.6.
WELLINGTON: The benchmark NZX-50 index rose 20.7 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,333.24.
With files from wire services
