CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks fell broadly on Wednesday as investors reacted to falling U.S. Treasury bonds yields, reflecting worries over an economic slowdown.
Trade worries deepened after media reports suggested that China could be considering restricting the export of rare earth minerals, which are crucial for the U.S. technology industry.
Chinese shares closed a tad higher, shrugging off concerns over slowing growth and the standoff in Sino-U.S. trade talks.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index recovered from an early slide to end the session up 4.79 points or 0.16 percent at 2,914.70. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 0.57 percent to 27,235.71.
Japanese shares fell amid broad uncertainties over trade and economic growth. The benchmark Nikkei gave up 256.77 points or 1.21 percent to 21,003.37 while the broader Topix index closed 0.94 percent lower at 1,536.41.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said Japan has difficulty in re-anchoring long-term inflation expectations from inflation below the target level and suggested examining how best to manage inflation expectations within the flexible inflation targeting framework.
Exporters ended broadly lower as the safe-haven yen edged higher against both the dollar and the euro. Mazda Motor dropped 1.1 percent, Sony fell 2.6 percent and Panasonic lost 1 percent.
Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest fell as much as 4 percent and Tokyo Electron declined 2.2 percent.
Banks Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho all ended down over 1 percent, reflecting falls in U.S. bond yields.
Australian markets followed global peers lower on rising fears of a prolonged U.S.-China trade war after U.S. President Trump said the U.S. was not ready to make a trade deal.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 44.80 points or 0.69 percent to 6,440 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 43.80 points or 0.67 percent at 6,536.60.
Mining stocks fell after recent gains, with BHP and Rio Tinto ending down 0.6 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.
Oil Search declined 1 percent amid political disarray in Papua New Guinea. Santos shed 1.6 percent and Origin Energy gave up 2.5 percent.
Telecom giant Telstra edged up slightly despite saying it would record about A$500 million in impairments in its fiscal 2019 results.
Mirvac Group shares were in a trading halt after the company said it would undertake an equity raising.
Seoul stocks fell as a tax cut for stock trading comes into effect later this week. The benchmark Kospi tumbled 25.51 points or 1.25 percent to 2,023.32.
New Zealand shares fell modestly, with the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index ending down 26.85 points or 0.27 percent at 10,096.47.
Fletcher Building shares tumbled 2.6 percent after Precinct Properties New Zealand said its high profile Commercial Bay development being built by the company will now take even longer.
In economic releases, New Zealand business sentiment strengthened in May on firms' assessment about own activity, survey results from ANZ showed. The headline business confidence index rose by 6 points to net -32 percent in May.
U.S. stocks fell overnight as U.S.-China trade tensions persisted. The Dow dropped 0.9 percent as traders returned to their desks after a long holiday weekend.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 declined 0.8 percent to reach two-month closing lows.
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