Asian markets fell on profit-taking on Thursday and following a loss on Wall Street as US data showed the economy shrank in the final three months of last year.

However, despite the surprise news out of Washington the dollar managed to hold its own against the yen after suffering a slight fall in New York trade.

Tokyo fell 0.50 per cent, Hong Kong shed 0.10 per cent, Sydney lost 0.44 per cent and Seoul slipped 0.36 per cent while Shanghai was flat.