HONG KONG: Asian shares were broadly lower Thursday as concerns about Greece's debt crisis returned to worry investors.
Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng index was down 0.83 percent or 178.46 points to 21,370.82 in afternoon trade, while the Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, slipped 0.15 percent, or 3.49 points, to 2,400.10.
Traders have grown nervous over whether Greece will be able to carry out the swingeing cuts and reforms necessary to implement the multi-billion-dollar rescue deal agreed on Tuesday morning after marathon talks in Brussels.
International ratings agency Fitch said Wednesday it considered a Greek debt default "highly likely in the near term" and cut the country's CCC rating to C, the lowest speculative grade and just one notch above default.
The worries also weighed on US stocks, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending 0.21 percent, or 27.02 points, lower at 12,938.67 overnight.
"Equity markets globally now seem to have reached an interesting inflection point after having gotten off to a great start to the year," said Stan Shamu, Australia-based market strategist at IG Markets, in a note according to Dow Jones Newswires.
"Investors are still hesitant to buy into the global growth story, due in part to persistent concerns about how bad things can go in Europe, and partly due to uncertainty on how China will manage in its attempt to engineer a soft landing."
Chinese shares were slightly lower amid concerns over the slowing domestic economy, despite a cut in reserve requirements for banks which takes effect Friday, dealers said.
"Beijing's latest monetary easing has set a positive tone for the market, but we may still see mild corrections down the road," said Amy Lin, an analyst at Capital Securities, adding that recent economic data had been discouraging.
Australian stocks were also down, with the S&P/ASX 200 closing off 0.16 percent or 6.9 points at 4,286.2 after Prime Minister Julia Gillard called a leadership ballot in the Labor party following the resignation of Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd.
"Everyone is sick of the ridiculous politics going on. Even the Australian dollar, losing some ground after Kevin Rudd's announcement, seems sick of the uncertainty it is creating in the domestic market," Kara Ordway, FX Strategist at City Index said in a note.
But Tokyo defied the trend as the dollar remained above the 80-yen mark. The strength of the Japanese unit has hurt the country's exporters for months.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed up 0.44 percent or 41.57 points at 9,595.57.
The dollar "staying firm above the 80-yen mark is providing some support." Daiwa Securities senior market analyst Yumi Nishimura told Dow Jones Newswires.
The greenback was at 80.19 yen, from 80.29 overnight in New York, after it reached the psychologically significant mark for the first time in more than six months on Wednesday.
The euro was trading at $1.3257 and 106.31 yen, mixed from $1.3252 and 106.41.
New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, was down 39 cents to $105.89, while Brent North Sea crude for April delivery shed 19 cents to $122.71 in afternoon trade.
Gold was at $1,773.30 an ounce at 0600 GMT, from $1,753.60 on Wednesday.
In other markets:
-- Taipei fell 0.80 percent or 64.38 points to 7,937.3.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co lost 2.01 percent at Tw$78.1 while leading smartphone maker HTC was 0.80 percent higher at Tw$628.0.
-- Wellington fell 0.15 percent or 5.08 points to 3,323.16.
Fletcher Building was down 0.77 percent at NZ$6.46, while Air New Zealand rose 1.12 percent to NZ$0.89.
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