Major Asian stock markets closed lower on Thursday following an overnight slip on Wall Street after the closely-watched 10-year Treasury yield touched its lowest in more than a year.
The Nikkei 225 dumped 344.97 points, or 1.6%, to 21,033.76, as index heavyweight Fanuc saw its shares slipping 1.3%.
The Japanese yen traded at 110.16 against the U.S. dollar after seeing lows around 110.6 in the previous session.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index advanced 46.96 points, or 0.2%, to 28,775.21.
Hong Kong-listed shares of China Construction Bank declined around 1% after the company posted its first quarterly profit drop since 2015.
Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE, on the other hand, saw its Hong Kong-listed stock surge 10.1% after the company forecast a jump in its first-quarter profit. ZTE, the world's fourth-largest telecommunications equipment maker by market share, was forced to stop most business between April and July last year due to U.S. sanctions.
Korean shares failed, as shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics declined 1.1%.
Australian indexes advanced, and the Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7104 U.S. as it attempted to recover from a steep decline yesterday, where it fell from the $0.714 handle.
CHINA
The CSI 300 index lost 14.99 points, or 0.4%, to 3,728.40
On the U.S.-China trade front, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are set to engage in trade negotiations Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Thursday night in Beijing, according to China's commerce ministry.
Ahead of the meeting, various media reported that the Chinese side made unprecedented proposals on issues such as forced technology transfer, citing U.S. officials.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index inched up 5.19 points, or 0.2%, to 3,203.58
Korea’s Kospi Index dropped 17.52 points, or 0.8%, to 2,128.10
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index subtracted 6.44 points, or 0.1%, to 10,536.26
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 hiked 67.29 points, or 0.7%, to 9,766.19
In Australia, the ASX 200 added 40.11 points, or 0.7%, to 6,176.08
