Japanese and Australian shares closed lower in holiday-thinned trade Thursday, a session marked by weakness in Tokyo banking shares while BHP Billiton ended on an upbeat note.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 Average ended 0.6% lower, falling 83.13 points to 13766.86.
On the economic front, Japan's Ministry of Labor reported today that labor cash earnings for Japanese workers rose 1.2% year-over-year in March compared to a revised 1.5% increase in February. Notwithstanding the slowdown in the pace of growth, the increase was in-line with expectations.
Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group fell 3.8%, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group retreated 2.7% and Resona Holdings ended down 4%.
In other Tokyo trading, shares of Mitsubishi Electric Corp. climbed 5.1%, extending recent gains, after the company said it expects no erosion in earnings in the current business year. Analysts were also upbeat about its prospects amid expectations of strong factory-automation and auto-equipment orders.
Elsewhere:
Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 eased 0.2% to 5,585.80.
New Zealand's NZX-50 climbed 0.2% to 3,630/41.
Markets in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan Vietnam, India and Pakistan were closed for public holidays.
with files from other wire services
