Most Asian stock markets ended lower Thursday, with Chinese property developers and many of the region's commodity producers declining amid worries Beijing may not relax a policy aimed at cooling the nation's housing market.
Japanese shares were an exception, and ended higher as the yen's weakening trend continued to support exporters.
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China's Shanghai Composite lost 0.7% to 2373.77, after falling 2.6% Wednesday following Premier Wen Jiabao's declaration of his government's continued commitment to cooling the housing market.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 0.2% to 4277.8, South Korea's Kospi gave up 0.1% to 2043.76 and Singapore's Straits Times Index was little changed at 3025.84.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.7% to 10123.28, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.2% to 21353.53 in choppy trading.
"The U.S. market and Europe have been strong, but [don't] have the lifting power to boost the Hong Kong market," said Linus Yip, strategist at First Shanghai Securities in Hong Kong. "It's an excuse for markets to retrace, after shooting up to relatively high levels."
Mainland property stocks came under further selling pressure. Beijing Vantone Real Estate Co. lost 3.7% and Poly Real Estate Group gave up 2.6% in Shanghai, while China Vanke shed 1% in Shenzhen.
In Hong Kong, Hang Seng Index constituents China Overseas Land & Investment dropped 2.7% and China Resources Land declined 1.6%.
"Property plays have been well-supported, it's time for correction as investors await any policy change," Mr. Yip said.
Property-sector losses in Hong Kong were offset by strength for index heavyweight China Mobile, which ended up 0.5% after the world's biggest cellular service operator by subscribers reported a 5.2% increase in 2011 profit.
Shares of HSBC Holdings also lent support to the broad market, extending recent gains by rising 1.4%.
Cathay Pacific Airways rose 0.8% although the airline on Wednesday reported a 61% fall in 2011 net profit and said 2012 was expected to be another challenging year. The gains came after Citigroup upgraded the stock to buy, saying there was a greater likelihood that the airline will revise its earnings upward going forward.
Several resource-sector shares fell, amid uncertainty over Chinese demand growth and after a firm U.S. dollar pressured commodity prices in New York Wednesday.
"Commodities declined after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said that property prices remained far from reasonable levels. This is likely to see recent government curbs on property speculation stay in place," Stan Shamu, strategist at IG Markets, wrote in a note to clients.
BHP Billiton dropped 1.2% and Rio Tinto shed 0.6% in Sydney, Cnooc gave up 1.2% in Hong Kong, and Aluminum Corp. of China lost 0.7% in Hong Kong and 2.8% in Shanghai.
Shares in Leighton Holdings rose 1.6% in Sydney after the construction firm and Macmahon Holdings secured a 340 million Australia dollar (US$356 million) contract to develop the Ichthys natural-gas project in Darwin. Macmahon rose 1.2%.
Over in Japan, export-focused companies rallied on the dollar's continued strength against the yen. Camera makers Ricoh and Canon climbed 7.9% and 3.7%, respectively, while Mazda Motor jumped 6.1%.
Sharp fell 5.3% a day after the electronics company named a new president and amid reports of delays in its delivery of liquid-crystal-delay panels for Apple's iPad devices.
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