Tokyo lost 1.29 percent to hit a one-month low, Hong Kong ended 0.63 percent down and Sydney drifted 0.71 percent to a two-month low. Seoul tumbled 1.75 percent on a lack of positive leads.

Profit-taking set in after Wall Street fizzled from an earlier rally to a closing gain of just 0.31 percent, with the Fed decision to hold rates at zero to 0.25 percent offering no surprises.

A payroll survey showing job losses in the U.S. private sector decreased for the seventh month in a row and news of expansion in the services sector also failed to make an impression.

Investors had an eye on the outcome of a meeting of the European Central Bank later Thursday and U.S. jobs data Friday.

Shanghai bucked the regional trend, closing up 0.85 percent at a three-month high.

TOKYO: Down 1.29 percent. The Nikkei-225 fell 126.87 points to 9,717.44. “Nothing is more frustrating than not being able to see when our concerns (about the health of the U.S. economy) will be ending,” Shinichiro Matsushita, a market analyst at Daiwa Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.

HONG KONG: Down 0.63 percent. The Hang Seng Index dropped 135.69 points to 21,479.08. Weakness in the property sector dragged the index on a report the government may increase supply in coming years.

SYDNEY: Down 0.71 percent. The S&P/AS-- 200 lost 32.1 points to 4,508.0. Australian shares hit a two-month low following the decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Despite a falling U.S. dollar and higher commodity prices miner BHP Billiton slumped 1.35 percent to 36.44 and Rio Tinto fell 1.32 percent to 62.59.

SHANGHAI: Up 0.85 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, rose 26.52 points to 3,155.05, the highest in nearly three months. Gains were limited by concerns the government would take measures in the coming months to curb overcapacity and overly rapid growth in certain sectors, analysts said.

SEOUL: Down 1.75 percent. The KOSPI fell 27.69 points to 1,552.24. The low volume indicates investors are cautious about a further correction amid a lack of fresh upward momentum, an analyst said.

SINGAPORE: Down 0.73 percent. The Straits Times Index fell 19.29 points to 2,629.35.

BANGKOK: Down 0.66 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand dropped 4.50 points to close at 681.91.

KUALA LUMPUR: Flat. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 0.12 points to 1,253.96.

JAKARTA: Down 0.20 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index lost 4.64 points to 2,367.21. The index has gained 75 percent since the start of 2009.

MANILA: Up 1.27 percent. The index added 36.88 points to 2,944.51. The market was driven by expectations that a large block of shares in top power utility Meralco is about to be put on the market, dealers said.

WELLINGTON: Down 0.70 percent. The NZ---50 index closed down 22.20 points at 3,144.51. Trading was mixed amid concerns about the strength of the local economic recovery after news that unemployment in New Zealand rose to a nine-year high of 6.5 percent, dealers said.

MUMBAI: Up 0.95 percent. The 30-share Sensex rose 151.77 points to 16,063.9.