Markets in Japan and Australia fell on Thursday, but the New Zealand benchmark index ended the trading day slightly higher.
Asian shares fell on Thursday after rising for two days. Japanese share prices were down 1.11%, tracking overnight falls on Wall Street as markets digested fresh signs of trouble in the US economy.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index fell 89.29 points to end at 7,949.65. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares dropped 6.37 points, or 0.80%, to 786.41.
The Australian share market closed slightly lower on Thursday as weakness among the major banks outweighed strength among the big miners.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 was 9.3 points, or 0.27%, lower at 3428.6, while the broader All Ordinaries fell 9.7 points, or 0.29% per cent, to 3372.6.
The NZX 50 closed 5 points up at 2773 on turnover of $64 million.
Top stocks were mixed. Telecom closed up 6 cents to $2.70, but Contact Energy fell 6c to $6.78 and Fletcher Building lost 1c to $5.52.
