Shares in Asian markets closed mostly lower on Thursday as yen gained against U.S. greenback, hurting exporters' sales in the region. The investor sentiment in the region remained low as the U.S. Federal Reserve Wednesday estimated the recession to deepen as the economy could contract 2 percent in fourth-quarter from 1.3 percent in the third-quarter. Oil traded lower towards $60-a-barrel mark as light sweet crude-oil futures for July delivery was moving down by $1.30 at $60.74 a barrel in Singapore's electronic trading on Thursday. On Wednesday, the front-month contract had moved higher by as much as 3.2 percent to $62.04 a barrel in on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Nov. 10. In currency trading, the yen strengthened as it changed hands at 94.29 yen per U.S. dollar in Asia on Thursday, after it closed at 95.52 yen per dollar late Wednesday in Tokyo. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 average closed down by 0.86 percent or 80.49 points to 9,264.15 points, led by exporters. Shares of Canon (NYSE: CAJ), the world's largest camera maker, dropped by 2.4 percent, Nikon Corp. (OTHER OTC: NINO.Y) also declined by more than 2 percent and Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE), which reported its first annual loss in 14 years, slipped by 1.6 percent Honda Motor Co. (NYSE: HMC), which gets 45 percent of its sales in North America, slipped by 1.5 percent in Tokyo trading. In the financial sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: MTU), the nation's biggest listed lender, declined by 1.6 percent and Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE: MFG) decreased by 0.9 percent in Tokyo trading. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng finished down by 276.35 points or 1.58 percent to settle at 17,199.49 points. In the financial sector, HSBC Holdings Plc (NYSE:HBC), which is Europe's largest bank, decreased by 2.6 percent in Hong Kong trading. Melco International Development Co. slipped by 9.7 percent after the casino operator's Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. venture posted a first-quarter net loss of $35.3 million, from a profit of $43.2 million in the year ago quarter. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index also closed slipped by 0.3 percent on overall negative sentiment. In the mining sector, shares of BHP Billiton, the world's biggest miner, moved slightly higher by 0.6 percent and Rio Tinto Group, the third largest miner, advanced by 2.9 percent in Sydney trading. In China, the shares on the Shanghai Composite Index turned volatile, but closed 1.54 percent lower at 2,610.62 points. Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi finished down by 1 percent, Taiwan's benchmark Taiex index increased by 0.2 percent. India's Sensex index was moving down by 2.33 percent to 13,732.61 points in late afternoon trading, as it failed to sustain 14,000-level acquired from a recent 17-percent-rally early this week.

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