Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday, following Wall Street's overnight decline on lingering worries

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about high European debt levels.

Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney were down while Shanghai, Seoul and Singapore gained.

That came after the Dow Jones industrial average closed below 10,000 for the first time in three months on concerns that debt problems in weaker European economies such as Greece might spark problems for the global financial system.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock average lost 0.4 per cent, or 34.56 points, to 9,917.68 while Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 declined 0.6 per cent, or 24.8, to 4,499.

China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2 per cent to 2,939.75, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was off 0.1 per cent, or 12.78, at 19,538.96. Seoul's Kospi was up 0.3 per cent, or 4.9, at 1,557.05.

Investors worry that debt problems in Greece, a relatively small part of the European economy, could spill over to other countries. Other countries being watched closely include Portugal and Spain.

The Dow fell 103.84, or 1 per cent, to 9,908.39. On Thursday, the Dow traded below the symbolic barrier of 10,000 for the first time since November. It hadn't closed below that mark since November 4.

Oil prices lingered below $72 a barrel in Asia with benchmark crude for March delivery down 28 cents at $71.61.

In currencies, the dollar rose to 89.39 yen from 89.17 yen. The euro gained to $1.3677 from $1.3650.