Hong Kong, (BBN)-Asian shares traded mostly lower, following Wall Street’s lead after the US Federal Reserve said it was on track to raise interest rates this year.
The Dow Jones fell 1.1% to a six-week low, while the S&P 500 lost 1.4% in US trade, reports BBC.
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 was down 0.5% to 17,716.21 despite data showing retail sales rose for the sixth consecutive month in December.
But, the 0.2% year-on-year growth fell short of gains expected by economists.
Shares of Nintendo slumped over 7% after the video game maker halved its operating profit target for the fiscal year through March to 20bn yen ($169m; £112m) from 40bn yen.
BROKERAGES INVESTIGATED
Chinese shares headed lower after reports that regulators were launching another investigation into margin trading at brokerages.
The official Xinhua news agency said the stock regulator would inspect margin trading of 46 companies as part of a regular check.
The mainland Shanghai Composite was down 1.3% to 3,262.62, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was lower 0.7% at 24,677.24.
Australian shares headed lower after closing higher for the fifth consecutive session on Wednesday.
The S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.1% to 5,544.9 points.
In South Korea, the benchmark Kospi was down 0.4% to 1,953.26.
Shares in Samsung Electronics reversed earlier losses to trade up 0.2% after reporting that its net profit fell 27% in the fourth quarter from a year ago, in line with market expectations.
BBN/AKG/AD-29Jan15-10:20am (BST)
