Nikkei hits lowest in over 4 months on geopolitical concerns, yen rise

North Korea has warned of a nuclear attack on the United States at any sign of aggression as a U.S. Navy strike group steamed toward the Korean peninsula - a force Trump described as an "armada". Meanwhile, the latest Bank Of Japan tankan survey showed that big manufacturers expect the dollar to average 108.43 yen for this fiscal year.

Russian Federation must withdraw support from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime if it wants an "important role" in talks about Syria's future, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters on Tuesday in Italy, where he was attending a meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of Seven nations.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 XJO, -0.74% was down 0.8% with index heavyweights, some of which report in US dollars, dragging the benchmark lower. President Trump's ordering of air strikes against the Syrian base where the chemical attack were initiated, was a response in part to the suffering of the Syrian people and to protect US interests regarding countries having and using chemical weapons. While he is set to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday, it's not clear whether President Vladimir Putin will agree to see him amid the increasing tensions.

News related to tensions over North Korea and Syria mostly took the market's attention and Chinese inflation data today were shrugged off as the figure was around expectations. Analysts predict the pace of factory-price gains in the world's second-largest economy will slow.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 125.77 points, or 0.68 percent, from Wednesday at 18,426.84, its lowest close since December 6.

The mood remained skittish though, tarnishing an otherwise brightening outlook for global economic growth, and meant that what looked set to be oil's longest winning run since August went nearly under the radar.

Early Thursday, China's central bank set the yuan 0.4% stronger against the dollar, the biggest one-day increase since January 18.

Thousands of dog attacks on postal workers reported in 2016
A national report was released Thursday that ranks the cities that comprise the more than 6,000 dog attacks on postal employees. Robert Lieb, a professor of supply chain management at Northeastern University, said he expects dog attacks to keep increasing.

There was little movement on the North American stock markets, with the S&P/TSX composite index in Toronto down 3.68 points to 15,727.11.

The South Korean won fell 0.2 percent, for a seventh day of declines.

The broader Topix dropped 1.2 percent to 1,477.79, with all of its 33 subsectors falling. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.1 percent. Australian shares were also stronger, up 0.7 percent at a near two-year high as higher oil and metal prices propped up commodity plays.

Futures on Hong Kong's Hang Seng and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index were each down 0.3 percent in most recent trading. Tillerson answered a question about effecting regime change by saying the USA was organizing a coalition to do just that. Brent crude was lower by 0.32 percent to trade at Dollars 55.86 a barrel while U.S. crude was down by 0.4 percent to trade at USD 52.90.

The yield on 10-year U.S. notes rose after closing Tuesday below 2.3 per cent for the first time in four months. Yields were last at 2.29 per cent and testing a hugely important barrier on the charts.

The Pound to Euro exchange rate is up 0.50% at 1.1774, near a daily high at 1.1778.

Brent oil extended gains into an eighth straight session on Wednesday, after Saudi Arabia was said to be pushing its fellow OPEC members and some rivals to prolong supply cuts beyond June.