Asian highs were short-lived on Wednesday when regional markets failed to hold on to Tuesday's gains after sentiment dampened following Moody's decision to downgrade Japan's credit rating to Aa3.


The ratings agency said that the nuclear accident coupled with the earthquake disaster had aggravated its economy and deferred Japan's recovery.
The Nikkei 225 and Hang Seng experienced the biggest losses, with 1.02 percent to 8,644 and 2.10 percent to 19,461, respectively.

In the US the Dow gained 2.97 percent while Nasdaq climbed 4.29 percent.