While euro-zone officials signed off on a EUR130 billion bailout package for Greece early Tuesday, markets remained skeptical about Athens's ability to cut its debt load to sustainable levels.
"The fact that the deal was highly expected played a role in the unenthusiastic reaction but markets may also be cautious given the major tasks that still lie ahead including a tough reform timetable for Greece, parliamentary approvals in various countries and implementation of the PSI debt swap," Mitul Kotecha, strategist at Credit Agricole said in a note.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was flat, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.2%, South Korea's Kospi Composite dropped 0.3% and New Zealand's NZX-50 fell 0.4%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were off eight points in screen trade.
Regional markets were sluggish amid a lack of positive catalysts. The sharp rise in crude oil and base metal prices Tuesday failed to generate enthusiasm for related stocks.
Many investors were focused on HSBC's February preliminary manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index for China due later in the day. Markets will look for any signs Beijing may need to continue easing policy after the weekend decision to cut banks' reserve requirement ratio.
In Sydney, the earnings season continued to buffet trading. Suncorp fell 2.6% on disappointing earnings guidance, while CSL rose 2.4% after the company's upgraded its fiscal year earnings estimate.
Woodside Petroleum added 0.8% after it said its A$14.9 billion Pluto LNG venture remained on track for a March start-up.
Regional resources and oil stocks were mixed, with S-Oil off 1.1% in Seoul, Inpex up 0.8% in Tokyo, while BHP Billiton fell 0.6% in Sydney.
The Tokyo market took a breather after a recent run sent the main index to over six-month highs. Scandal-hit Olympus rose 1.2% after the Nikkei reported Wednesday the company will hire an official from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. to become the new chairman.
A host of exporters, which benefited from a recent, rare period of yen weakness, lost ground. Honda Motor was off 0.8% and Sony lost 1.1%.
The euro traded in tight ranges against the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen as doubts remain on Greece's ability to put its debt load on a sustainable footing.
"While (Greek) austerity measures put in place provides a long-term plan to reduce the nation's budget deficit, it does little to assist growth in the region with potentially years of sub-zero growth on the horizon," Chris Gore, currency analyst at Go Markets in Melbourne said in a note.
The single currency was at $1.3228 against the greenback, from $1.3234 late Tuesday in New York, and at Y105.59 against the yen, from Y105.58. The dollar was fetching Y79.83, compared with Y79.75.
Spot gold was at $1,756.80 per troy ounce, down $3.50 from its New York settlement on Tuesday.
April Nymex crude oil futures were down 31 cents at $105.94 per barrel on Globex.
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