Investing.com - Asian shares held mostly weaker on Wednesday with regional data a dampener and sentiment downbeat.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was last up 0.02% to 2,903.82 after falling 0.46% at the open. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 1.14% to 19,193.81.
Also in China, the yuan was down against the dollar Wednesday after the People's Bank of China set another weaker fixing at 6.5309.
The S&P/ASX 200 fell 2%, while the Nikkei 225 was down 1%.
In Japan, the corporate services price index rose 0.2% compared to an expected gain of 0.3%.
In Australia, fourth quarter figures for construction work done showed a fdrop of 3.6%, compared to an expected drop of 2.0% quarter-on-quarter, and the wage price index rose 0.5%, compared to an expected gain of 0.6% quarter-on-quarter.
Overnight, U.S. stocks retreated from near six-week highs reached in the previous session, as a pair of prominent energy ministers rattled markets with bearish comments on global supply and JPMorgan Chase & Co (N:N:JPM) announced downbeat forecasts for the first quarter, due in part to its exposure to the oil and gas industry.
Crude futures tumbled more than 4% on Tuesday, after Saudi Arabia oil minister Ali al-Naimi reiterated that his nation remains committed to freezing its production at January levels, but will not approve any output cuts. Last week, Saudi Arabia, Russia and two other OPEC members agreed in principle to cap production from last month's totals in a deal which could represent the first accord between OPEC and Non-OPEC producers in 15 years. Al-Naimi's comments came hours after Iran oil minister Bijan Zanganeh called the deal "ridiculous," for imposing "unrealistic demands," on his nation.
The deal is contingent on receiving approval from Iran, which has been reluctant to freeze output, weeks after a wide range of economic sanctions were lifted against the Persian Gulf state.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 188.88 or 1.14% to 16,431.78, while the NASDAQ Composite index fell 67.03 or 1.47% to 4,503.58, as tech and pharmaceutical stocks weighed. The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, dropped 24.23 or 1.25% to 1,921.27, as nine of 10 sectors closed in the red. Stocks in the Energy and Basic Materials sectors lagged, each falling by more than 2.5%. Stocks in the Utilities industry led.