Investing.com - Asian shares nudged lower on Wednesday, though the Nikkei edged up slightly, though markets in China and elsewhere slid.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.36%, while the Hang Seng index fell 0.36% and the Shanghai Composite dipped 0.25% in morning sessions.
South Korea's KOSPI was up 0.1% after index provider MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) said late Tuesday that it will remove the country from consideration for inclusion in its developed-market index. This follows Seoul's sharp 1.1% gain in the previous session.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.2%.
China's economic news was offset by the World Bank's trimmed global growth target of 2.8% for the year, compared with a 3.2% forecast in January. The bank said that emerging markets should expect to face headwinds given the lack of willingness to implement policy changes in many countries.
Overnight, profit taking sent U.S. stocks edging lower after investors locked in gains from last week's upbeat U.S. jobs report.
The Dow 30 rose 0.02%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.02%, while the NASDAQ Composite index rose 0.04%.
Rising Treasury yields, four months of solid monthly jobs reports and other upbeat economic indicators in the U.S. have boosted stock prices by fueling hopes the economy is brushing off the fallout from a rough winter.