South Korean shares led regional stocks lower on Thursday as the global economic outlook worsened along with a rising tally of weak earnings and forecasts in the region and overseas.

However, late in the trading day, the gloom was lifted somewhat after a report in the Wall Street Journal said that the US government was considering spending about $40bn to help prevent foreclosures. That helped many markets claw back some of the days losses, though markets still ended the day in negative territory.