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Hong Kong - Asia's markets mostly fell on Thursday following losses on Wall Street, with Japanese shares hit by a stronger yen, while traders remain on edge over the Crimean crisis.
Tokyo fell 1.16% at the break, Sydney slipped 0.89% and Shanghai was 0.22% lower while Hong Kong shed 0.13% and Seoul added 0.10%.
With few catalysts to drive business, investors took their lead from New York, where the three main indexes slipped again despite better-than expected data on retail, a key driver of the US economy.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders rose 2.2% in February from the previous month, beating forecasts of a 1.0% decline.
However, the Dow fell 0.60%, the S&P 500 declined 0.70% and the Nasdaq sank 1.43%.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei suffered heavy selling pressure as the yen clawed back some recent losses against the dollar and euro.
The greenback bought ¥101.87 in morning trade, down from ¥102.00 late in New York and much lower than the ¥102.27 seen in Asia earlier on Wednesday.
"There are just no positive incentives right now, with jitters over slowing China growth, geopolitics weighing, and of course the April 1 national sales tax hike (to 8% to 5%)," Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.
"There are real fears that the sales tax bite on economic growth could be worse than previously imagined."
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pushed through the controversial sales tax hike as part of a plan to reduce the country's yawning national debt but critics say it will knock the country's nascent economic recovery off course.
In other forex deals the euro bought $1.3780 and ¥140.45 compared with $1.3788 and ¥140.57.
The single currency is sharply down from the $1.3818 and ¥141.34 in Tokyo on Wednesday, as European and US dealers sold it following comments from the European Central Bank that hinted at a further loosening of monetary policy to avert deflation.
Investors are keeping an eye on events in Europe after Russia took control of Crimea from Ukraine this month.
In Washington, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Russia had moved more troops closer to Ukraine's borders in recent days despite assurances it will not invade.
However, while tensions have eased, markets remain wary as US President Barack Obama called for greater sanctions on Russia. Obama said on Wednesday that the United States and its allies need to "step up" their commitments.
However, there are fears about the long-term ramifications of the stand-off, with Europe hugely reliant on Russia for its energy.
On oil markets New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate, eased 11 cents for its May delivery to $100.15 a barrel in early morning trade, while Brent North Sea crude for May lost 22 cents to $106.81.
Gold fetched $1 304.30 an ounce at 04:30compared with $1 314.55 late on Wednesday.
