Asian stocks extended losses Thursday as disappointing data in the U.S. added to the already fragile sentiment.
Among regional indexes, Hong Kong's Hang Seng led the losses, down 1.1% while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.8%.
Australia's S&P/ASX All Ordinaries was down 0.7% and Mumbai's Sensex was trading 0.6% lower at 9:27 a.m. Indian Standard Time.
Japan's Nikkei was at the flat-line amid a choppy session, after posting a loss of 3.8% in the previous session.
On Wednesday, ADP private sector employment report showed that private U.S. employers added a lower-than-expected 135,000 new jobs in May.
Meanwhile, the Beige Book revealed that the U.S. economy continued to grow at a modest pace on the back of a resurgent housing industry and steady gains in manufacturing.
Despite the positive news, investors were worried that improving economic conditions could mean an earlier-than-anticipated exit of the Federal Reserve's current asset-purchase program.
Stocks on the move
Japanese exporters were hard hit amid Fed stimulus worries. Blue-chip exporters Sharp Corp. and Sony Corp. fell around 3% and 2% respectively, while car manufacturer Mazda Motor skidded 2.7%.
Power utilities and shipping companies were among others that underwent sharp selling pressure. Tokyo Electric Power plunged over 7% while Kyushu Electric Power lost around 4%.
Shipping company Kawasaki Kishen K.K. dropped more than 4% and Nippon Yusen K.K. lost 3.5%.
However, a handful of stocks managed to buck the trend as bargain-hunters made selective picks.
Tokyo Electron Ltd. bounced over 6%, Trend Micro Inc. gained 3.2%, brokerage house Daiwa Securities climbed 2% while Mitsuibishi Materials enhanced 1.9%.
Some realty firms and drug makers also gained ground as investors sought defensives. Mitsui Fudosan Co. Ltd. rose 1.3% while Takeda Pharmaceuticals gained 1.3%.
Hong Kong-listed property developers, however, pushed lower amid lingering worries about the country's economic growth. China Resources Land declined 2.7% while New World Development Corp. lost around 2%.
On the mainland, Gemdale Corp. tumbled 4.6% in Shanghai while China Vanke erased 2.6% in Shenzhen.
Resources and financials added to the losses. Angang Steel dropped 1.2% while Aluminum Corp. of China fell 2.7%.
Index leader and global banking giant HSBC Holdings erased 1.3% while Hang Seng Bank slid 2.2%.
Trading in Mumbai started on a low key as investors took cues from overseas markets.
Leading the losers in early trades, Bharti Airtel erased over 2%, Hindalco Industries fell 1.7%, Sun Pharma pulled back 1.4% while Hero MotoCorp. gave up 1.3%.
Banks, power utilities and metal firms were also on the downside with modest losses.
On the upside, Cipla added 0.7% after extending its partnership with Swedish firm Meda AB.
In Australia, meanwhile, most banks extended their losses after lacklustre GDP data yesterday. ANZ lost 1.2% and Westpac Banking eased 0.4%. Commonwealth Bank slipped 0.2%.
Among miners, BHP Billiton was little-changed while Rio Tinto fell 0.7%. Diversified miner Fortescue Metals Group fell 3.4% while gold miner Newcrest Mining tumbled 6.3%, extending its slide on heels of weak global gold spot prices.
On the earnings front, Fairfax Media Ltd. retreated 2.1% after forecasting a sharp decline in full-year operating earnings.