Asian shares were mostly lower on Wednesday as jitters over trade conflicts between the world's major economies lingered while the prices of oil extended gains.
The oil prices extended gains as the US pushed other countries to cut oil imports from Iran.
Chinese stocks were the biggest losers with Shanghai Composite Index sinking 0.9 per cent to 2,818.75. The index is the global market's worst performer this year, down 14 per cent since the start of this year.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.8 per cent to 28,640.52. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.3 per cent to 22,283.34 and South Korea's Kospi was flat at 2,352.24. Australia's S&P-ASX 200 edged up 0.1 per cent to 6,201.00.
Stocks in Taiwan were lower but Singapore and other Southeast Asian markets were higher.
US stocks finished slightly higher Tuesday, a day after heavy sell-offs. The S&P 500 index gained 0.2 per cent to 2,723.06. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1 per cent to 24,283.11.
The Nasdaq composite added 0.4 per cent to 7,561.63. The Russell 2000 index picked up 0.7 per cent to 1,668.53, reports AP.
Benchmark US crude gained 21 cents to $70.74 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It added 3.6 per cent to finish at $70.53 a barrel in New York on Tuesday.
Brent crude added 20 cents to $76.34 per barrel in London. It rose 2.1 per cent to settle at $76.14 per barrel in the previous session.
The dollar fell to 109.92 yen from 110.03 yen. The euro gained slightly to $1.1647 from $1.1646.
