CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks ended broadly lower on Wednesday, as growth worries coupled with geopolitical issues like U.S.-China trade tensions and Brexit dented investors' appetite for risk.
Chinese shares finished marginally higher while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dipped 0.13 percent.
Global Times' editorial urged patience after U.S. President Donald Trump said a trade deal could be reached in about four weeks.
It is still uncertain when, or even whether, Beijing and Washington can reach a trade deal, it cautioned.
Japanese shares fell as investors kept an eye on escalating trade tensions between the United States and Europe and an upcoming press conference by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi.
The benchmark Nikkei ended down 115.02 points or 0.53 percent at 21,687.57 while the broader Topix index closed 0.69 percent lower at 1,607.66.
Exporters ended broadly lower as the yen strengthened amid an uptick in risk aversion. Japan Post tumbled 2.9 percent on news of a new share sale by the government.
Sony fell 2.5 percent on profit taking after surging more than 9 percent in the previous session.
On the data front, the total value of core machine orders in Japan rose 1.8 percent month on month in February, the Cabinet Office said - coming in at 836.7 billion yen. That was shy of expectations for a gain of 2.8 percent following the 5.4 percent contraction in January.
Producer prices in Japan rose 0.3 percent sequentially in March, exceeding expectations for 0.2 percent and unchanged from the February reading.
Overall bank lending in Japan added an annual 2.4 percent in the month, following the 2.3 percent annual increase in February.
Australian markets finished little changed amid worries about growth and a flare-up in trade tensions between Washington and Brussels.
Miners BHP and Fortescue Metals Group dropped 0.4 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively while Rio Tinto edged up 0.3 percent. Energy stocks ended broadly lower as oil prices slipped from five-month highs after Russia suggested it would hike output.
Crown Resorts slumped 9.1 percent after Wynn Resorts said it had terminated takeover discussions with the casino and resorts operator.
Webjet rallied 2.4 percent as the online travel agent released an update ahead of its appearance at the UBS Emerging Companies Conference.
Gold miners Evolution and Newcrest rose over 1 percent as gold held near two-week highs amid an uptick in risk aversion.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia advanced 0.7 percent after cutting home loan rates. The other three big banks closed up between 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent.
South Korean markets closed higher, with financials, telecom and tech shares pacing the gainers. The benchmark Kospi rose 10.83 points or 0.49 percent to 2,224.39 amid buying by institutional investors in late afternoon trade.
New Zealand shares fell for a sixth consecutive session, with the benchmark NZX-50 index ending down 79.34 points or 0.81 percent at 9,707.96. Electricity and energy retailer Trustpower lost 2.4 percent after dropping its profit guidance.
U.S. stocks fell overnight after President Trump threatened tariffs on European goods and the IMF cut its global growth forecast.
The Dow dropped 0.7 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 shed around 0.6 percent.
A European Commission spokesman slammed 'exaggerated' U.S .tariff threat and pledged to retaliate against any new U.S. tariffs.
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