Many investors were reluctant to take risks on Thursday as the likelihood of an extended inflation fight in the US dampened the mood on trading floors

The region's stock indexes sparked back into life on Wednesday posting their best returns in seven weeks after data showed China's manufacturing sector rallied strongly in February

Investors remained on the sidelines bracing themselves for more rate hikes out of the US though recovery hopes boosted mainland China stocks

Risk-taking was in short supply on Monday with investors bracing for more US Fed tightening and superpower friction dampening the mood further

The one-year-old Ukraine war and a ramp-up in the war of words between Beijing and Washington dampened the mood on trading floors

Investors were in subdued mood after Fed meeting minutes revealed a hawkish tone and the US and Russia continued to argue over Ukraine

Japan's Nikkei hit a one-month low while tech stocks dragged on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng with global growth worries weighing on sentiment

Tensions over the continuing Ukraine conflict, a slump in factory output in Japan and fears there’ll be no let-up in the Fed’s war on inflation all weighed on sentiment

Nikkei, Hang Seng and China’s mainland indexes all advanced but traders were cautious ahead of the release of key US and global economic data this week

Investors continued to be distracted by the US Fed’s rate hike threats while news on a new BOJ chief unsettled traders in Tokyo

Investors were in downbeat mood at the prospect of a long battle with inflation while China’s markets were buoyed by recovery hopes

Japan’s Nikkei was dragged down by poor financial results for Nintendo and SoftBank while China’s markets were weighed down by Sino-US tensions