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Asian stock markets slipped on Wednesday after weaker-than-expected U.S.consumer confidence data overnight dampened sentiment. Seoul led the slide with a 2.4 percent drop, while Sydney and Tokyo ended over 1 percent down.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Average [JP;N225
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] closed lower as exporters such Elpida Memory shed 5.15 percent,after U.S. stocks fell overnight amid doubts over the strength of the U.S. economic recovery.
The broader Topix fell 0.75 percent to 888.80.
Honda Motor shares rose 3.3 percent following an earlier suspension due to overwhelming buy orders. Investors cheered news that Honda nearly tripled its annual profit forecasts that some said may yet be conservative. The results bump it further ahead of rivals thanks to a dominant motorcycle business and line-up heavy in small cars.
Shares of Canon slid 3.3 percent and Ricoh lost 2.1 percent, after the office equipment makers posted sharp falls in quarterly profit.
Toiletries brand Kao shed 4 percentand bicycle parts maker Shimano slumped 6.8 percent after both companies lowered earnings forecasts.
M&A action lifted shares of Monex 3.9 percent while Orix fell 0.7 percent. Monex Group will buy a 22.5 percent stake in Orix's securities unit and merge their securities operations. The deal will create Japan's second-largest online broker.
DeNA surged 16 percent, after the internet and mobile phone auction site operator bought the U.S. and China units of mobile phone software firm IceBreaker to shore up its social networking services abroad.
Nomura Holdings reported earnings after the bell. Japan's largest brokerge posted a second straight quarterly profit due to robust sales of investment trusts and gains from trading commissions.
Fujitsu, the country's biggest IT services firm, logged a smaller-than-expected fall in quarterly profit and kept its annual outlook.
The South Korean Kospi retreated 2.4 percent ahead of key earnings and economic data this week.
Concerns over the pace of recovery in the global economy also kept investors cautious.
The country's leading tech names and shipbuilders weighed heavily on the index.
LG Electronics shed 3.8 percent, while Samsung Electronics shed 2.9 percent. The world's top maker of memory chips on Wednesday gave an upbeat view for the memory market. The company will report earnings on Friday.
Growing worries about the downturn in the shipping sector dragged on Hyundai Heavy Industry, the world's No.1 shipbuilder, fell 4.4 percent. Daewoo shipbuilding & Marine Engineering lost 3.9 percent.
Australian stocks dropped 1.4 percent. Financial stocks led the falls as investors took profits after National Australia Bank's results.
NAB reported earnings in line with forecasts and expressed caution over the outlook. Its shares reversed early gains to drop 2.8 percent. ANZ shares fell 1.6 percent ahead of its results on Thursday. CBA, the biggest bank by market value, declined 3.8 percent.
Global miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto both fell on lower metal prices.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index [AU;XJO
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] lost 68.4 points to 4,685.1, after losing 1.6 percent on Tuesday.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.3 percent to 3,202.7 points.
- Wall Street Closing Numbers
Taiwan's benchmark Taiex extended yesterday's losses and finished 1.61 percent down at 7533.95 points, its biggest daily fall in over three weeks.
Doubts about a U.S. recovery weighed on exporters such as electronics parts giant Hon Hai.
UMC shares fell 3.07 percent. The world's second-largest contract chip maker announced a sharp rise in quarterly profits after the trading session.
China's key Shanghai Composite closed up 0.33 percent in a choppy session. The index rebounded from the day's lows with coal and airline shares firmer after strong earnings report.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 1.4 percent.
China Shipping Container Lines shed 2.6 percent after posting a 1.94 billion yuan loss for the third quarter.
Wynn Macau retreated over 6 percent after its parent Wynn Resorts posted results in the U.S. and gave a downbeat outlook.
Singapore's STI fell 1.7 percent and Malaysia's KLCI declined 0.9 percent.
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