Asian shares lower

HONG KONG, May 25 (AFP): Asian stock markets lost ground on Wednesday despite strong performances from automakers in Japan after a report that quake-hit production could return to normal earlier than expected. Regional markets were following a lead from Wall Street, where tech plays were hit and uninspiring data on home sales left traders gloomy, while eurozone debt concerns are also adding to worries. Tokyo ended 0.57 per cent, or 54.29 per cent, off at 9,422.88 and Seoul closed 1.26 per cent, or 25.89 points, lower at 2,035.87. Sydney shed 0.95 per cent, or 44.1 points, to close at 4,584.7. Shanghai ended 0.91 per cent, or 25.32 points, lower at 2,741.74, with ongoing concerns over a possible slowdown in China's economy weighing on sentiment. However, Hong Kong pared earlier losses and ended flat, edging up 16.50 points to 22,747.28. However, Swiss commodities giant Glencore ended lower on its debut in the city following an equally uninspiring beginning in London on Tuesday. Japanese automakers were doing their best to lift the mood of the markets. Manufacturers were badly hit by the supply chain ructions caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, but the Nikkei newspaper said swift improvements could see Toyota's production back to 90 per cent by next month. Toyota closed up 2.16 per cent, Honda rose 1.32 per cent, Nissan climbed 1.28 per cent and Denso, a major Toyota supplier gained 0.21 per cent. However, after the market had closed Toyota denied the report, saying there was no change to its goal of 70 per cent by June. Overall the Nikkei index was weighed by technology stocks, which were dragged by weakness in their US counterparts. The problems were compounded for Sony by the disclosure after markets closed Tuesday that security at its Greek unit had been breached with 8,500 users affected.