Stocks in Asia traded in negative territory on Wednesday as traders in Tokyo paused for breath after recent gains.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed down 75 points at 12,239 in Tokyo while the Hang Seng retreated 333 points at 22,556 in Hong Kong.

Sentiment was hurt by a weak close on Wall Street overnight and as investors took fright at recent economic data including a sharp drop in UK industrial production.

Japanese exporters such as Panasonic came under pressure as the yen firmed against major currencies. Toyota Motor motored 1% lower and Canon dropped 2.8%.

Shares on the up included Nippon Paper which rose 1.7% after a report said it is poised to list on the Nikkei Average.

Camera maker Nikon Corp added 3.3% on reports that it is planning to
slash inventory by 20% as part of its streamlining strategy.

Elsewhere in Hong Kong financials were offloaded ahead of talks on Chinese monetary policy and financial reform.

Bank of China fell 2%, China Construction Bank pulled back 1.4% while Standard Chartered dropped 2.4%.




CJ

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