Gold also eased slightly from its record high after breaching the $1,800 barrier for the first time, but the yen edged towards a fresh high against the dollar as dealers poured into safe haven assets.
Tokyo closed 0.63%, or 56.80 points, lower at 8,981.94 while Sydney closed flat, edging down 0.5 points to 4,140.8.
Hong Kong fell 0.95%, or 188.53 points, to 19,595.14. The index had lost 2.54% on opening.
But Seoul – which had earlier lost about 4% - closed 0.62%, or 11.20 points, higher at 1,817.44 while Shanghai was up 1.27%, or 32.33 points, at 2,581.51.
Regional markets took a hit on opening after Wall Street slumped – with each of the three main indexes losing more than 4% - and Europe was battered by renewed fears over US and eurozone debt.
European woes were re-ignited on Wednesday when rumours circulated that France was in danger of seeing its top-notch credit downgraded, following last week’s historic cut to the US’ rating.
Amplifying the debt woes was a Fitch downgrade of Cyprus and comment that the eurozone nation would need an EU bailout.
And Greece stoked the fire when an official said the term for the exchange of bonds under its new rescue plan might have to stretch out beyond 2020 – longer than had been planned.
Asian markets have suffered a rollercoaster week, tumbling from Friday to Tuesday on eurozone fears and the US debt downgrade before rebounding on Wednesday after the US said it would hold rates at record lows for two years.
The sell-off yesterday morning came as gold surged to a record $1,814.50-1,815.50 an ounce in early trade, with investors looking for a safe place to park their money. However, it eased to close in Hong Kong at $1,782.50-$1,783.50.
The yen, another safe-haven, moved towards its post-World War 2 high of 76.25 to the dollar, which it hit in the turbulent week after Japan’s March 11 quake and tsunami disaster.
Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda reiterated that he remained attentive to financial markets and had an eye on the yen, a week after the government stepped into the forex market to stem the unit’s rise.
In other markets, Taipei fell 0.22%, or 17.23 points, to 7,719.09. TSMC rose 0.91% to T$66.4 while UMC fell 2.7% to T$10.8.
Manila closed 0.49%, or 20.08 points, higher at 4,311.02. Rising gold prices sent Lepanto Consolidated Mining 6.3% higher to 1.36 pesos and Philex Mining rose 2.8% to P27.85. But SM Investments fell 2.3% to P507 and Philippine Long Distance Telephone shed 0.5% to P2,260.
Wellington closed up 0.78%, or 24.88 points, at 3,208.62. Mainfreight rose 1.6% after announcing quarterly net profit was up 109% year on year, while Steel & Tube Holdings lifted 2.1% to NZ$2.40 after doubling its annual net profit.
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