Asian stock markets closed lower on Thursday ahead of a potentially fraught first meeting between US President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping. A slightly weaker US Dollar didn't help either.

Japan's benchmark index, Nikkei 225 fell 264.21 points or 1.4 percent to settle at 18,597.06. China's benchmark index, Shanghai Composite rose 10.70 points or 0.33 percent to close at 3,281.00. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 127.08 points or 0.52 percent to end at 24,273.72.

Singapore's Straits Times declined 7.15 points or 0.23 percent to end at 3,169.40. South Korea's KOSPI lost 8.10 points or 0.37 percent to end at 2,152.75. Taiwan's TAIEX fell 51.68 points or 0.52 percent to end at 9,897.80.