Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index plummeted to a 20-month low on Tuesday on fears over the US economy and a government shutdown. That came after a brutal run on Wall Street that saw US stocks sink for a fourth straight session.

As the US stock market looked on track for its worst December since the Great Depression, Trump on Tuesday berated the Fed for its stewardship of the economy, a regular recent complaint against the US central bank.

However, Tokyo closed higher on Wednesday, logging its first positive finish in six sessions. Chinese stocks closed slightly lower, while Seoul also dropped.

Financial markets in Australia, Hong Kong and New Zealand are closed for a public holiday.

Markets have been roiled by ongoing uncertainty in the US, with Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin berated for holding a call with the six biggest US banks and then reporting on Twitter that the six CEOs have "ample liquidity" available.

Investors were also unnerved by weekend news reports that Trump had asked about the possibility of firing Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, accounts that Mnuchin said Trump has denied.

- 'Panic mode' -

Analysts said investors had been spooked by Trump's unpredictable behaviour.

"The markets are in panic mode that the US economy is tanking, expecting the benefit of Trump's fiscal stimulus will falter in 2019," said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trade at OANDA.

"After all, it was the US market that was carrying the weight of global risk sentiment on its shoulder. If the US economy turns south, global capital markets are in for a world of hurt."

However, Norio Miyagawa, senior economist at Mizuho Securities, said that despite the recent market rout, there has been no clear sign of a recession in the US.

"Our judgement is that the US economy remains solid at the moment", though investors need pay attention to the possible impact of US trade rows with other countries on financial markets and business outlooks, he said in a note.

The euro was moving narrowly against the dollar on Wednesday.

"The jury is out on this one, US political uncertainty vs weak EU economy," said Innes in a note.

"Most days I would favour the weak EU economy, but the swamp and numerous political sinkholes in Washington are too hard to ignore."

- Key figures around 0800 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei: - UP 0.89 percent at 19,327.06 (close)

Hong Kong: CLOSED

Shanghai - composite: DOWN 0.26 percent at 2,498.29 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1405 from $1.1415

Dollar/yen: FLAT at 110.43

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2708 from $1.2706

Oil - Brent Crude: DOWN 15 cents at $50.20

Oil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 4 cents at $42.71

New York - Dow: DOWN 2.9 percent at 21,792.20 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.52 at 6,685.99 (close)

-- Bloomberg News contributed to this story --

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MIZUHO FINANCIAL GROUP