Japan's Nikkei share average edged lower on Thursday morning, hit by declines in automakers and electronic component makers as the strong yen soured investor appetite.
The Nikkei shed 0.4 per cent to 23,705.47 in midmorning trade, after hitting as low as 23,601.84. Toyota Motor Corp dropped 1.4 per cent, Honda Motor Co tumbled 2.0 per cent and Mazda Motor shed 0.6 per cent.
The yen has risen this week after the Bank of Japan had on Tuesday trimmed its buying of long-dated Japanese government bonds in market operations. Early in the day, the dollar suffered its biggest one-day drop in nearly eight months against the yen following a report that China was ready to slow or halt its purchases of US Treasuries, before regaining some ground later.
Kyocera Corp fell 1.4 per cent, Alps Electric declined 1.7 per cent and Taiyo Yuden stumbled 2.3 per cent. Banks continued to advance, however, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rising 0.4 per cent and Mizuho Financial Group gaining 0.7 per cent. The broader Topix dropped 0.4 per cent to 1,883.96.