Asian shares fall on mixed data, markets focused on Greece talks

Investing.com - Shares in Asia fell on Wednesday on mixed regional data including upbeat GDP in Australia and as investors looked ahead for new about Greece's talks with creditors to resolve a crisis in sovereign debt payments.

The Nikkei 225 fell 0.40%, while the S&P/ASX 200 eased 0.83% and the Shanghai Composite fell 1.02%.

First quarter GDP in Australia rose 0.9%, above the gain of 0.7% expected quarter-on-quarter and for an annual pace of 2.3%. The faster than expected growth pace will challenge assumptions on the scope for further rate cuts in the near term.

Earlier in Australia, the AIG services index eased to 49.6 in May from 49.7.

The HSBC China services PMI for May came in at 53.5, stronger than the 53.3 seen.

Overnight, stocks on the U.S. equities markets fell broadly on Tuesday reversing moderate gains from one session earlier, as a weaker dollar pushed down by disappointing U.S. factory data and uncertainties related to the Greek debt negotiations weighed.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, NASDAQ Composite index and the S&P Composite index all fell by less than 0.25%, as a late rally failed to offset significant losses from the U.S. morning session. The Dow lost 28.43 or 0.16% to 18,011.94, rallying from a poor morning when it opened down more than 100 points.

The NASDAQ, meanwhile, lost 6.40 or 0.13% to 5,076.53, retreating from record territory reached late last month. The S&P 500 also dropped 2.13 or 0.10% to 2,109.60, as six of 10 sectors closed in the red. Stocks in the Utilities, Technology and Health Care sectors lagged, while stocks in the Energy and Basic Materials industries led. Utilities stocks plunged more than 1.35% on the session.

Overnight, data showed U.S. factory orders fell on a year-over-year basis, factory orders dropped 6.4%, the sixth straight monthly decline.

The unexpectedly weak data sparked fresh fears over the outlook for second quarter growth after data last month showed that the U.S. economy contracted 0.2% in the first quarter.

Elsewhere, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Tuesday that his government submitted a "comprehensive proposal" to its lenders late Monday and added that a decision on an agreement now rested on European political leaders.

Greece is due to make a €305 million payment to the International Monetary Fund on Friday but warned last month that it will be unable to make the repayment if a deal is not reached by then.