Most stocks in Asia closed lower on Wednesday as markets processed new geopolitical uncertainty related to North Korea and the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rising to its highest level in seven years overnight. Japan's eased 0.44 percent, or 100.79 points, to close at 22,717.23 and the broader Topix slipped 0.27 percent as mining and oil shares weighed. Banking stocks also pulled back. Elsewhere, South Korea's benchmark Kospi finished the day little changed at 2,459.82 after trading both above and below the flat line, a 0.05 percent gain. Gains by heavyweight Samsung Electronics offset declines seen in oil refiners and stocks in the manufacturing sector.

Greater China markets drifted lower: Hong Kong's shed 0.52 percent by 3:00 p.m. HK/SIN, extending losses seen in the last session but off its session lows. Hong Kong-listed tech giant Tencent traded lower by 1.16 percent by 3:00 p.m. HK/SIN ahead of earnings due later. On the mainland, the declined 0.7 percent to close at 3,169.71 and the Shenzhen composite shed 0.41 percent to finish the session at 1,832.27. Financials were among the worst-performing sectors in Shanghai, with major insurers and banks downbeat. New China Life Insurance dropped 3.83 percent and China Pacific Insurance fell 4.03 percent. Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 clung to gains and edged up by 0.15 percent to 6,107. Most of the country's heavily weighted "Big Four" banks carved out gains while the energy sector led gains on the index. MSCI's broad index of shares in Asia Pacific excluding Japan slipped 0.18 percent in Asia afternoon trade.

North Korea concerns