Most Asia-Pacific markets fell in choppy trading on Wednesday, with South Korea’s benchmark index wiping out more than half the gains made earlier this week, while investors digested a positive business sentiment survey from Japan.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 moved downward 105.34 points, or 0.3%, to 32,166.48.
The Reuters Tankan poll showed Japanese manufacturers’ business confidence improved for the first time since August and service-sector mood rose for a second month, underscoring a challenging outlook amid a patchy economic recovery.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dumped 101.7 points, or 0.6%, to 17,568.46.
South Korea’s Kospi dropped 3.24% in the two sessions since Monday when it had gained over 5% after the country re-imposed a ban on short selling.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 dropped 8.69 points, or 0.2%, to 3,611.07.
In Taiwan, the Taiex gained 55.88 points, or 0.3%, to 16,740.83.
In Korea, the Kospi index fell 22.34 points, or 0.9%, to 2,421.61.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index lost 44.09 points, or 1.4%, to 3,129.72.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 slumped 72.56 points, or 0.7%, to 11,151.30.
In Australia, the ASX 200 recovered 18.37 points, or 0.3%, to 6,995.45.