Asian stock markets turned lower as Tokyo, Seoul and Sydney shares gave up their early gains after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said interest rates would remain at very low levels for a long time, boosting global stocks.
Japan's Nikkei average lost nearly 1 percent on Thursday, with strength in the yen outweighing Bernanke's comments.
Denso fell 2.2 percent to weigh on the broader market after authorities said the FBI has raided three Detroit-area Japanese auto parts makers for a sealed federal antitrust investigation, including Toyota suppliers Denso and Tokai Rika.
But Toyota Motor gave up 0.1 percent after trading higher most of the day. Its chief Akio Toyoda apologized to consumers and pledged reforms to skeptical lawmakers at U.S. congressional hearings. Toyota's U.S. listed shares jumped 3.9 percent.
Among exporters, Sony slipped 2 percent and Advantest lost 2.1 percent.
Seoul shares turned lower on Thursday, with gains in Hyundai Motor despite its recall announcement outweighed by declines in retail and banking issues including KB Financial Group.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was down 1.5 percent at 1,588.00 points.
Bank of Korea data early on Thursday showed that South Korea's seasonally adjusted current account turned to a deficit in January for the first time in a year, further denting sentiment.
But shares in Hyundai Motor posted a firm rebound only a day after South Korea's top automaker decided to recall 47,000 of its new Sonata sedans, including 1,300 in the United States, to fix faulty door latches. Hyundai shares climbed 0.44 percent
Shares in Lotte Shopping, a flagship unit of Lotte Group, fell after the group said it handed in a letter of intent to buy a controlling stake in Daewoo International, confirming an earlier newspaper report. Analysts said the chances of Lotte Group buying the stake were very low, but its association with the deal weighed on group shares
Australian shares slipped on Thursday, giving up early gains after strong data on business
investment raised the prospect of another rate hike in Australia, possibly as early as next week.
Mixed results and outlooks from Australian companies drove some big moves in companies like engineering group Downer EDI, fund manager Perpetual and gaming and wagering company Tatts Group.
Property developer Lend Lease was on a trading halt for an entitlement offer, priced at a hefty 20 percent discount to its last trade to raise A$806 million ($720 million) to stave off credit rating downgrades.
Gaming and wagering company Tatts Group fell 2.5 percent to A$2.32 after disappointing investors with a flat first half profit, just below market forecasts.
Fund manager Perpetual jumped 3.6 percent to A$36.70 after its first half profit came in slightly ahead of forecasts, boosted by cost cuts. It said the outlook for equity markets was too uncertain for it to give a full year forecast.
Engineering contractor Downer EDI slid 4.3 percent to A$7.95 after saying that it still expects its full year profit to grow by around 5 percent, which was well below analysts' forecasts for profit growth of around 12 percent.
HK Falters, China Bucks Downtrend
Hong Kong shares slid into negative territory, mirroring losses around the region, but investors snapped up property and banking shares after U.S. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's reassurance that interest rates would remain low.
Hang Lung Properties, Sino Land and Sun Hung Kai Properties hit intraday one-month highs. Shares in property firms have soared this week following strong results at a government land auction which boosted the outlook for the sector.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index lost 155 points at 20,311.38. The China Enterprises Index of top locally listed mainland Chinese stocks was down 1.23 percent.
China Zhongwang Holdings rose 6.65 percent after the firm said on Wednesday it expected its 2009 net profit to rise more than 70 percent from a year ago on higher demand for industrial aluminum extrusion products.
The Shanghai Composite Index climbed over 1 percent to 3,052.96 points.
In Southeast Asia, shares of Singapore's City Developments were up 0.2 percent after it reported a better-than-expected 77 percent rise in fourth-quarter profit.
The broader Straits Times Index tracked the region lower to fall 0.6 percent.
