Japan (BBN)-Asian shares traded mixed on Thursday, denting the mood after record closing highs for Japanese shares in the previous two sessions.
News that six global banks were fined on Wednesday £2.6bn by regulators for currency rigging hurt investor sentiment, reports BBC.
Added to that, Japanese government data painted a mixed picture of the economy.
The Nikkei was up 0.1% at 17,217.75 after hitting an all time closing high of 17,197.05 on Wednesday.
The dollar was at 115.56 yen early on Thursday, compared with 115.52 yen in New York trade.
The Reuters Tankan poll showed that Japanese manufacturers grew more confident for the first time in three months, but expected conditions to worsen again, despite moves by the Bank of Japan to boost the economy.
Meanwhile, core machinery orders unexpectedly rose 2.9% in September and companies forecasted only a modest decline in orders in the fourth quarter, indicating that business investment would pick up.
But, another Reuters poll showed that 72% of companies said that the economy was too weak to handle a sales tax increase as scheduled.
Hong Kong shares opened lower 0.1% with the Hang Seng Index at 23,913.05 points.
Shares of PetroChina supplier Wison Engineering fell 34% after it said a bribery charge had been filed against the company and its chairman. It shares had been suspended since 13 September due to an investigation.
Meanwhile, shares of China's largest social network Tencent fell 1.8% after it missed earnings forecasts and its revenue grew at at its slowest rate in seven years.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.4% to 2,504.38.
In Australia, shares fell as sliding commodities prices held back the resources sector.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.3% at 5,448.70.
Westpac shares were down 1.4% after the bank announced that its chief executive Gail Kelly would retire in February.
She will be replaced by the group's head of financial services Brian Hartzer.
South Korean shares were higher 0.3% with the Kospi at 1,972.62 points.
BBN/AS-13Nov14-1:40pm (BST)