Sydney  - BHP Billiton Ltd's aborted bid for mining rival Rio Tinto Ltd dragged Australian stocks down Wednesday.

The ASX 200 gave up 83 points, or 2.2 per cent, to close at 3,540.

Rio's share price plunged by a third in the wake of BHP's decision to call off its hostile takeover bid over concerns it would be taking on too much debt if it won control of the world's second-biggest producer of iron ore.

In contrast, investors welcomed the failure of the bid, driving up the share price of the world's biggest mining company by 4 per cent.

"BHP is a better story with a lot less debt," said DJ Carmichael and Co analyst Chris Chong.

Tokyo  - Tokyo stocks ended Wednesday morning trading lower on renewed concerns about the economy of the United States, a major export market for Japan.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 108.27 points, or 1.3 per cent, to trade at 8,215.66. The index gained more than 5 per cent Tuesday after the US government announced a bail-out plan for the struggling Citigroup Inc.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also down 14.03 points, or 1.69 per cent, at 817.55.

Amman - Most Middle East stock markets rebounded on Tuesday, propelled by a US plan to rescue the Citigroup conglomerate, a 30- billion-dollar British stimulus plan and improving oil prices, financial analysts said.

Jordanian shares rose for the first time in 10 days, encouraged by the Central Bank of Jordan's decision to slash the basic interest rate by 0.5 percentage points.

The 30-share index BSE Sensex bounced back into the positive terrain on account of strong buying action witnessed in power, metal, capital goods, telecom and bank stocks.

Selected oil, realty and auto stocks also posted
impressive gains. Information technology stocks slipped from their
higher levels due to lack of support.

FMCG and Pharma stocks remain relatively subdued.

A good buying interest was seen in midcap and smallcap segments.

The market breadth was strong it saw 1258 progressions as against 819 declinations.

Security and Exchange Board of India is closely watching the market conditions and would soon announce fresh steps for the stability of the stock market. It may restrict over-leveraged hedge funds to ensure smooth running of the stock market. SEBI chief, C B Bhave, who was speaking at the HT Leadership Summit expressed his views that Indian Stock markets will be among the first few to recover.