Asian markets were mixed on Wednesday with some bourses tracking Wall Street’s overnight falls on weaker-than-expected US retail data, eroding recent optimism over prospects for an economic recovery.

Tokyo dropped for a third straight day, down 1.13 per cent after US government figures showed a surprise 1.1 per cent fall in March retail sales.

A stronger yen sparked renewed jitters about the outlook for exporters. The dollar fell to 98.44 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade from 99.80 a day earlier.

Investors continued to lock in recent gains ahead of upcoming corporate earnings reports in the United States and Japan that are expected to reflect the severe global economic downturn.

Sydney gave up 0.14 per cent and Taipei 0.3 per cent after Wall Street slid 1.71 per cent.

However, other bourses in the region moved in the opposite direction.

Singapore gained 0.47 per cent, Hong Kong edged up 0.57 per cent and Shanghai added 0.35 per cent as tentative signs of recovery in China’s economy helped wipe out early profit-taking.

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