The leading Asian stock exchanges started Thursday's trading downward and thus took a cue from Wall Street, where enthusiasm in the wake of the US and China's tariff negotiations has begun to wane.
In Tokyo, the important Nikkei 225 had lost 1.1 percent by lunchtime, while the broader Topix index fell 1 percent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was slightly less gloomy but still lost 0.2 percent.
It was also sour in Shanghai and Shenzhen, with composite indices losing 0.5 and 0.7 percent.
Nor did South Korea's Kospi index manage to muster any sparkling energy and therefore shrank by 0.2 percent.
