During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 0.25%, Australia’s S&P/ASX200 tumbled 1.2%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.8%.
Trading volumes were thin in many markets ahead of the Christmas holiday weekend, resulting in low liquidity and irregular volatility. Markets in Japan were to remain closed Friday.
Concerns over the health of European lenders intensified on Wednesday after the ECB allotted EUR489 billion to 523 European banks in its first offer of unlimited three-year loans.
However, the move failed to alleviate concerns over the financial crisis in the region as the scale of the operation indicated that European lenders believe that funding shortages were likely to continue into 2012.
Shares in Japanese lenders retreated, with investment bank Nomura Holdings falling 0.85% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group down 0.6%.
Technology sector stocks performed poorly, tracking losses in their U.S. counterparts after tech giant Oracle saw shares plunge 11.6% on the Nasdaq.
The world’s second-largest maker of chip-testing equipment Advantest saw shares drop 4.5%, while Tokyo Electron shares fell 1.15%.
Elsewhere, in Hong Kong, shares raw material producers led losses, tracking commodity prices lower.
Gold producer Zijin Mining Group saw shares fall 2.3%, while oil giants PetroChina and CNOOC saw shares decline 1.15% and 1.85% respectively..
Meanwhile, in Australia, outdoor-clothing retailer Kathmandu Holdings saw shares plummet 25.45% after it warned of weak Christmas demand.
The news weighed heavily on other shares in the sector, with department store operator Myer Holdings dropping 6.15% and electronics retailer Harvey Norman falling 2.4%.
Looking ahead, the outlook for European stock markets was upbeat. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a gain of 0.55%, France’s CAC 40 futures added 0.75%, the FTSE 100 futures rose 0.45%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to an increase of 0.75%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish its weekly report on initial jobless claims, as well as revised data on third quarter GDP, while the University of Michigan was to release revised data on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.
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