Asia shares down despite China factory data

Asian shares closed down on Thursday, taking their lead from losses on Wall Street despite positive factory data from China.

Japan's Nikkei index closed down 0.4% at 15,138.96 points.

Earlier in the US, the S&P 500 ended a four-day winning streak after a fatal shooting in Canada's capital city unsettled investors.

A gunman killed a soldier at a war memorial in Ottawa and shots were fired in the parliament building.

The Nikkei's lull comes after a more upbeat day for the index on Wednesday, when Japanese investor sentiment was boosted by official trade figures that showed a rapid increase in exports during September.

The world's third-largest economy said its exports jumped 6.9% from a year earlier - the strongest rise for seven months - although official data showed its trade deficit for the month still widened.

Shares of Takata, a firm that makes airbags for cars, were down by more than 6% after US car safety regulators expanded a recall of vehicles with potentially dangerous Takata airbags to 7.8 million.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite ended 1% lower, despite HSBC's purchasing managers' index (PMI) reading for small and medium-sized factories in China coming in slightly ahead of expectations.

While the HSBC reading was positive, up from 50.2 in September to 50.4 in October, sub-index figures showed that factory output had fallen to a five-month low.

"While the manufacturing sector likely stabilised in October, [China's] economy continues to show signs of insufficient effective demand," HSBC said.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index closed down 0.3%, but railways helped offset the losses.

Shares of China CNR Corp jumped 3.2% after its said it had been awarded a subway contract from US state Massachusetts.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.1% lower, ending seven sessions of gains - its longest winning streak since August.

In South Korea, the Kospi closed down 0.3%, but losses were capped by a late rally in Hyundai Motor shares, which jumped almost 6% higher on earnings expectations.

The carmaker said its fourth-quarter profit would improve and that it was mulling a sizable increase in dividend rates.