HONG KONG, Jan 10: Asian shares closed mostly down on Thursday with Japanese stocks sliding to a near 19-month low as investors turned cautious over a cloudy global economic outlook.

The falls came even though Wall Street shrugged off fears of a US recession to close up on Wednesday, with investors in Asia apparently still worried the ailing American economy will contribute to a marked global economic slowdown.

Among the region’s major markets, Japan fell 1.45 per cent, Hong Kong was down 1.40, South Korea ended down 1.1 per cent and Singapore slipped 1.0 per cent.

The Indian stock market, which closed at record highs earlier in the week, hit an all-time high during trading but eventually fell back to close down 1.38 per cent.

Among the smaller markets, Thailand suffered a heavy 2.47 per cent fall over concerns about the global economy and political uncertainty in the wake of elections.

Japanese share prices slid 1.45 per cent lower to a near 19-month low.—AFP