Thursday: Asia Markets Lapse

Early Thursday Japanese shares retreated on concerns about the U.S. economy and a higher yen, with the Nikkei 225 Index losing 0.63% to 17,145.72 and the broader Topix Index down 0.89% Exporters Toyota Motor(TM Quote) and Sony(SNE Quote) led decliners.

A day before, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 Average reversed early gains, closing off 0.6% to 17254.73; the Topix fell 1% to 1723.86. The Shanghai Composite advanced 1.09% to 3,173.02. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.9% to19553.87.

In Thursday's first hour of trading, Singapore's Straits Times Index slipped 0.79% to 3,176.43, South Korea's Kospi shed 0.20% or 2.89, and Taiwan's Taiex lost 0.29% to 7,765.80....