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Asian stock markets fell on Thursday as investors received little encouragement after the Federal Reserve reiterated its intent to keep interest rates low.
As expected, the Fed pleged to keep to a loose monetary policy in the absence of inflation and said the U.S. economy's recovery would be muted.
Though Wall Street rallied in response, it soon lost steam to end mixed after a volatile session.
Tokyo and Seoul lost over 1 percent each, as caution set in ahead of Friday's U.S. jobs data for clues on the state of the U.S. economic recovery.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Average [JP;N225
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]ended the session down 1.29 percent to hit its lowest in a month.
Exporters declined as investors took profits on caution ahead of U.S. jobs data due out on Friday. Canon shed 1.76 percent while Sony lost 2.3 percent.
Sanyo slumped 20.4 percent after Panasonic launched a bid for shares in the world's largest rechargeable battery maker.
However, banking shares rose on short-covering and offered some cushion to the index's slide.
Mitsubishi UFJ, the country's top lender, climbed 1 percent. No. 3 bank Sumitomo Mitsui Financial rose 1.6 percent.
Consumer finance firms rallied for a third straight session, boosted by news that the government could relax its strigent regulation on the industry. Takefuji surged 19 percent.
Toyota fell 0.8 percent. After the bell, the world's biggest car maker posted a surprise profit in the second quarter and halved its annual loss forecast.
Nissan Motor pared gains to close 0.3 percent higher after Japan's third-biggest automaker revised its annual outlook to a profit from a loss on Wednesday as soaring sales in China helped drive quarterly earnings beyond market expectations.
The benchmark Nikkei lost 126.87 points to 9,717.44, while the broader Topix shed 0.7 percent to 874.96.
Australia, South Korea Down
Seoul shares closed Thursday down 1.75 percent as concerns over the sustainability of the economic recovery and a strengthening won weighed on sentiment.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index settled at 1,552.24 points, with trade volume at its lowest since late August of last year.
The country's leading tech names came under pressure, with Hynix Semiconductor losing 3.4 percent.
Hyundai Motor dropped 4.2 percent, battered by worries that the world's No. 4 carmaker could lose market share in the United States.
Australian shares fell 0.7 percent lower following an unconvincing rally on Wall Street overnight.
Miners and property stocks dragged on the S&P/ASX 200 [AU;XJO
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]but health-care issues helped to limit the index's decline.
Global heavyweights BHP Billion and smaller rival Rio Tinto fell 1.3 percent each.
David Jones declined 4.2 percent after the retailer's first quarter sales growth came in well below analysts' forecasts.
Toll-road operator Transurban Group outperformed, surging 19 percent to a nine-month high, after its board rejected a $4.4 billion takeover bid from two Canadian pension funds.
HK, Taiwan Slip But China Gains
Taiwan's Taiex ended 0.66 percent lower to 7,417.58 points, as investors cashed in on recent gains in financial and property shares.
However, DRAM maker Nanya Tech surged 5.49 percent on prospect of better sales for the fourth quarter.
Hong Kong stocks also lost 0.6 percent in Thursday's session, retreating from a 1.76 percent gain the previous day.
Investors sold shares of local property firms, with Cheung Kong down 1.5 percent and Sun Hung Kai Properties shedding 1.7 percent.
But Chinese developer Evergrande Real Estate rose 34.3 percent on its trading debut.
Chinese stocks bucked the downward trend to end at a fresh three-month closing high.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.85 percent at 3,155.5 points.
The market was supported by comments by Chinese officials reaffirming the country's pro-growth policy stance.
Shanghai-based firms got a lift as details emerged about a planned Disney theme park in the city.
Singapore's STI slipped 0.5 percent while Malaysia' KLCI was flat.
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