CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Wednesday as mixed trade data from China and concerns that a U.S.-China trade war will dent growth kept underlying sentiment cautious.
Meanwhile, after the U.S. confirmed that it planned to raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods this Friday, investors remained edgy ahead of trade talks on Thursday and Friday in Washington.
Chinese shares fell as trade worries lingered and April exports data added to investor concerns over slowing growth.
China's exports unexpectedly shrank 2.7 percent in April from a year earlier, while imports surprised with their first increase in five months, customs data showed.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index fell 32.63 points or 1.12 percent to 2,893.76 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended down 1.23 percent at 29,003.20.
Japanese shares fell sharply to hit a five-week low as the yen rallied to a six-week high against the dollar on fears of worsening U.S.-China trade tensions.
The Nikkei average tumbled 321.13 points or 1.46 percent to 21,602.59, the lowest closing level since April 2. The broader Topix index closed 1.72 percent lower at 1,572.33, with all 33 subsectors ending in the red.
China-linked companies such as Komatsu and Hitachi Construction Machinery fell around 3 percent while exporters Canon, Panasonic and Honda Motor declined 1-3 percent.
Yamaha Motor plunged as much as 13.4 percent after reporting a drop in operating profit for the January-March period.
Australian markets followed Wall Street lower after the IMF chief said fresh trade tensions between the U.S. and China would dent global growth.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 26.60 points or 0.42 percent to 6,269.10 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 31.70 points or 0.50 percent at 6,351.80.
Santos dropped 1 percent, Beach Energy declined 1.5 percent and Origin Energy shed 1.6 percent after oil prices fell sharply overnight on trade worries and higher U.S. crude supplies.
Mining heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto ended with modest losses while smaller rival Fortescue Metals Group gave up 1.5 percent.
Gold miner Northern Star Resources jumped 3.9 percent and Evolution Mining rallied 2.2 percent as gold prices hit one-week high.
CSR lost 1.5 percent after the construction materials supplier reported a 59 percent fall in full-year profit.
Seoul stocks fell for a third straight day amid the deepening trade dispute between the United States and China. The benchmark Kospi dropped 8.98 points or 0.41 percent to 2,168.01, dragged down by technology and pharmaceutical stocks.
Samsung BioLogics slumped 7.7 percent after prosecutors raided the firm's factory on alleged accounting fraud.
New Zealand shares recovered from an early slide to finish modestly higher as the country's central bank cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time in two-and-a-half years and signaled a chance of a further cut in 2020, citing 'large' uncertain factors.
The benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index ended up 35.66 points or 0.36 percent at 10,063.05 while the kiwi dollar stumbled to a six-month low following the rate decision.
Malaysia's KLSE Composite index was down 0.4 percent, a day after the country's central bank slashed its interest rate for the first time in nearly three years, citing several downside risks to the economic growth outlook.
The Taiwan Weighted shed 0.6 percent. A government report showed that Taiwan's consumer price inflation rose to the highest level in six months in April.
Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index was down 0.8 percent and India's Sensex was losing 0.7 percent after the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its second-biggest daily percentage drop of the year.
U.S. stocks tumbled overnight as investors grappled with the risk of an all-out trade war between China and the United States.
The Dow Jones Industrial fell 1.8 percent to its lowest closing level in well over a month, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 2 percent and the S&P 500 declined 1.7 percent.
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