Asian stocks went down on Thursday in line with their U.S peers with Sydney touching its lowest level in two weeks as investors locked in gains in resource shares such as BHP Billiton.

The Tokyo stock market, closed for the Golden Week holiday period, will reopen on Monday.

A 3 percent drop in oil prices also hurt energy issues such as Woodside Petroleum, down 2.1 percent. U.S. crude was at $72.21 in early Asian dealings, well down from the recent peak near $75.

At 0025 GMT, Seoul stocks had shed 0.66 percent as financial issues such as Woori Financial Group pared recent gains, while Hyundai Motor fell 1.0 percent ahead of its quarterly results.

The top auto maker is expected to post a 7 percent fall in quarterly profit.

Analysts said worries about the strength of the won which hit an eight-year high on Wednesday, was also weighing on sentiment. A stronger won can erode the competitiveness of South Korean exporters.

"Although the effects of a stronger won are beginning to look priced in, movements in foreign exchange markets will continue to be a major factor in the short-term," said Kim Jeong-hwan, a strategist at Woori Investment and Securities.

In Australia, falls of 1.9 percent for mining giant BHP Billiton and 0.5 percent for Commonwealth Bank helped drag the S&P/ASX 200 index down 0.94 percent to two week lows.

Shares in Westpac Banking Corp. lost 1.4 percent after the country's fourth-largest bank disappointed investors with a 12 percent rise in first-half earnings that was in line with forecasts.

Also under pressure, New Zealand's biggest-listed company, Telecom Corp., slumped 9.9 percent after the government ordered the company to open up its local networks to competitors, dragging the key NZX-50 Index down 2.46 percent.

On Wall Street, the blue chip Dow eased 0.14 percent after a batch of strong economic data fueled concerns about rising interest rates while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.25 percent.