AFP, Hong Kong :
Asian markets were mostly lower Wednesday following a fall on Wall Street, with shares of Apple’s suppliers mixed as investors were left unimpressed with the US giant’s latest iPhones and watch.
The dollar resumed its uptrend against the yen, hitting a fresh six-year high, while the pound edged up but was still struggling on fears Scotland will vote to leave the United Kingdom.
Tokyo ended 0.25 percent higher, adding 39.63 points to 15,788.78 and reversing morning losses thanks to the yen weakness.
However, Sydney lost 0.60 percent, or 33.6 points, to end at 5,574.3, while Shanghai shed 0.35 percent, or 8.22 points, to 2,318.31. Hong Kong sank 1.93 percent, or 485.09 points to 24,705.36 on concerns about China’s economy.
Seoul was closed for a public holiday.
With few regional catalysts, investors took their lead from Wall Street, where an initial rally following Apple’s launch petered out after the Federal Reserve signalled stricter capital requirements for banks.
A top official at the central bank said the largest lenders with high dependence on short-term funding would face tougher rules to ensure they did not put the financial system at risk.
The Dow gave up 0.57 percent and the S&P 500 dropped 0.65 percent Tuesday, while the Nasdaq fell 0.87 percent.
On currency markets the greenback shrugged off an early sell-off to rally to 106.64 yen, its highest since September 2008 during the financial crisis and well up from the 106.20 yen late in New York.
The dollar was supported by Japanese importers purchasing the unit while the US Federal Reserve cuts back on its stimulus programme and expectations increase that it will raise interest rates sooner than later.
The euro bought 137.80 yen and $1.2928 Wednesday against 137.39 yen and $1.2938 in US trade. On Tuesday in Japan the single currency was sitting at 136.89 yen and a 14-month low of $1.2872.
