Investing.com - Asian shares drifted mostly weaker on Thursday with a central bank meeting in Tokyo and earnings in South Korea in focus.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.40%. The Bank of Japan also finishes a two-day meeting today, with its quarterly economic report due later today.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was flat, while South Korea's Kospi declined 0.27% after Samsung Electronics (KS:005930) said its Q1 profits were the best since 2013 due to solid earnings from the memory chip segment, according to Reuters. Samsung shares initially dropped more than 1.8% after the company said it would not be introducing a holding company structure. Shares later recovered to trade around 2.2% higher.
Shares of Samsung's other listed units traded lower following news that the company would not restructure. Samsung SDI was down 2.5%.
In the U.S. proposed changes in the tax system included a cut in the corporate tax rate from 35% to 15%, the plan left investors with questions on whether the changes would increased the budget deficit.
"Having bought the rumor, U.S. investors sold after the unveiling of President Trump's tax plan," CMC Markets' Chief Market Strategist Michael McCarthy said in a note to clients.
"Although the initial response was positive ... the looming market close sparked a minor panic ... The key question for Asia Pacific investors revolves around the potential for the sentiment reversal to erase yesterday's gains," he said, adding that the strengthening dollar could work against regional markets excluding Japan.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Consumer Goods, Oil & Gas and Basic Materials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.10%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.05%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.01%.