Asian Stocks Finish Mostly Lower

Stock measures in South Korea and Australia closed lower, while stocks in Shanghai rose.

A murky outlook from Intel (INTC Quote)Tuesday, as well the yen's climb against the dollar, sent tech shares lower around Asia.

Intel reported first-quarter net income of $647 million. The figure was less than half what the company earned in the same period last year but beat analysts' expectations for far worse. The chipmaker claimed personal computers sales had "bottomed out" but it unnerved investors by not giving specific revenue guidance.

In Tokyo, Advantest(ATE Quote), which makes memory chip testing equipment, shed 4% and Tokyo Electron lost 4.6%. South Korea's Samsung Electronics fell 1.2%.

Financial issues also took a big hit as investors moved to lock in profits after recent gains.

Nomura Holdings(NMR Quote), Japan's biggest securities company, plunged 7.7%.

On Tuesday in the U.S., the Dow closed down 137.63, or 1.7%, at 7,920.18.

Broader measures also lost ground after three days of gains. The S&P 500 index fell 17.23, or 2%, to 841.50, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 27.59, or 1.7%, to 1,625.72.

Wall Street futures pointed to a lower open on Wednesday.

Stocks in London rose slightly, while trading was lower in Frankfurt and Paris.

Oil prices hovered above $49 a barrel Wednesday in Asia as the unexpected drop in U.S. retail sales suggested crude demand could remain weak amid the worst recession in decades.

Benchmark crude for May delivery rose 37 cents to $49.78 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract on Tuesday fell 64 cents to settle at $49.41.