Asian shares mostly lower after US stocks fall back

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly declined Thursday after stock indexes shuffled lower on Wall Street.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dipped 0.3% to finish at 29,598.66, although it had momentarily picked up after major business daily Nikkei reported Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will propose Friday a government stimulus package totaling a record 55.7 trillion yen ($488 billion). The rally quickly ran out of steam as more sobering concerns, such as the coronavirus pandemic, weighed in.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.1% to 7,379.20, while South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.4% to 2,952.19. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.3% to 25,312.09. The Shanghai Composite shed 0.4% to 3,525.09.

“Without a positive lead from Wall Street overnight and a relatively quiet day in terms of economic data, sentiments in the region may be on hold, potentially leading to some sideways movement,” said Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist at IG in Singapore.

Recent government data have shown the coronavirus pandemic continues to hurt the Japanese economy. A supply crunch in chips and other parts needed to produce autos, a mainstay of the world's third-largest economy, is one reason.

The damage to consumer spending brought on by recent government measures to close restaurants early and open theaters to limited crowds is another factor. Japan has never had a lockdown but has called periodically for a “state of emergency” to curb the spread of infections.

Junichi Makino, chief economist for SMBC Nikko Securities, said the Japanese recovery that many initially expected to begin this year may not come until fiscal 2022, which begins in April.

“But extreme pessimism is not called for. Auto production will likely get back to normal by the October-December quarter,” he said.

Investors are also watching...