Asia markets largely declined Wednesday after US indexes pulled back overnight on recession fears, reports CNBC.
Some analysts said the selloff in stocks pointed to "deep-seated worries" among investors.
Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 0.28 per cent to 20,618.57, retracing some of its earlier losses, and the Topix index declined 0.61 per cent to 1,497.51.
The Japanese yen traded at 106.54 against the dollar, weakening from levels below 106 in the previous week.
Automakers mostly declined as shares of Nissan dropped 1.52 per cent, Mazda Motor fell 3.23 per cent while Toyota erased earlier losses to finish flat. Tech conglomerate SoftBank Group slipped 2.86 per cent while banking and financial stocks also traded lower.
In South Korea, the Kospi index erased losses to trade 0.22 per cent higher at 1,964.65 and Kosdaq was up 1.47 per cent. Major stock indexes in India, Singapore and Indonesia also traded lower in the afternoon.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose about 0.2 per cent in late afternoon trade while shares of Xiaomi tumbled 4.98 per cent. The Chinese smartphone maker, which is listed in Hong Kong, reported 15 per cent growth in quarterly revenue on Tuesday, missing estimates as fewer people bought smartphones at home, and as rival Huawei grabbed more market share, Reuters reported.
The Shanghai composite on mainland China was fractionally higher at 2,880.33 while the Shenzhen composite was down about 0.1 per cent. The onshore Chinese yuan traded at 7.0591 against the dollar after the People's Bank of China set the daily midpoint rate at 7.0433, slightly stronger than a Reuters estimate.
Offshore yuan, which is traded outside mainland China and has comparatively fewer restrictions, traded at 7.0643.
Meanwhile, European stocks traded higher on the day as investors awaited minutes from a meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve, while President Donald Trump suggested he was weighing measures to boost the world's largest economy.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 climbed 1 per cent in afternoon trade, autos leading gains with a 1.8 per cent jump as all sectors and major bourses traded firmly in positive territory.
Shares in Renault and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles both gained after an Italian press report suggested contact between executives at both firms has never ceased and a merger remains on the cards.
European investors monitored Italian markets late Wednesday and early Thursday after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigned, kickstarting consultations between President Sergio Mattarella and party leaders in the hope of a solution to the political crisis.
Investors seemed to welcome the prospect of political change, as Italy's FTSE MIB index shrugged off the uncertainty to jump 1.8 per cent.
