Asian shares slipped on Wednesday while Hong Kong’s Seng index tumbled 1.7 per cent as thousands continued protests against proposed legislation.
Renewed jitters over the trade war between the US and China were weighing on sentiment, pulling shares slightly lower on Wall Street, where benchmarks fell for the first time in six days.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.2 per cent to 21,154.28 and the Kospi in Seoul shed 0.2 per cent to 2,1087.60. The Shanghai Composite index declined 0.5 per cent to 2,910.82.
Australia’s S&P ASX 200 edged 0.1 per cent higher 6,550.40. Shares rose in Taiwan but fell in Jakarta and Thailand, reports AP.
On Wall Street, defence contractors suffered steep declines and technology stocks gave up most of their early gains, taking the steam out of a morning rally.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed with a loss of 14 points after rising as many as 186 points just after trading began.
The S&P 500 slipped 1.01 point, or 0.03 per cent, to 2,885.72. The Dow fell 14.17 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 26,048.51. The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.60 of a point to end at 7,822.57.
The Russell 2000 index of small companies fell 4.45 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 1,519.11.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury has dropped from around 2.50 per cent in early May to 2.13 per cent Wednesday.
In other trading, benchmark US crude lost 98 cents to $52.29 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 1 cent to $53.27 a barrel on Tuesday.
Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell $1.03 to $61.26 a barrel.
The dollar fell to 108.36 Japanese yen from 108.52 yen on Friday. The euro rose to $1.1338 from $1.1330.