Despite U.S. President Donald Trump's criticism, all Fed policymakers backed raising interest rates last month and also generally agreed borrowing costs were set to rise further.
"A slightly more hawkish tone in the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) September minutes, which prompted the 10-year UST bond yield higher... may also dampen any near-term enthusiasm for extending the Asian equity rally for now," OCBC analysts said in a note.
Singapore shares <.STI> edged lower, dragged mainly by real estate stocks after the city-state announced stricter guidelines on the maximum number of units in new blocks of private flats and condominiums in a move to tackle what authorities have called "excessive development of shoebox units".
"It's a knee-jerk reaction because markets were not expecting another set of cooling measures so soon," said Joel Ng, an analyst with KGI Securities.
The new rules will lead to a fall in prices which will eat into developers' margins, he said, adding that, "There really is no reason for holding developers at this point given the potential headwinds going forward."
Sector heavyweight City Developments Ltd fell 2.3 percent, while UOL Group Ltd declined 2.2 percent.
Philippine stocks <.PSI> were marginally lower after shedding as much as 0.6 percent earlier in the day.
Real estate and financial stocks were the biggest losers. Conglomerate Ayala Corp fell 0.9 percent and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company shed 0.7 percent.
Indonesian shares <.JKSE> fell from a two-week closing high hit in the previous session. Banks were top losers followed by telecom stocks. PT Bank Central Asia Tbk shed 1.3 percent, while PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk declined 2 percent.
Malaysian stocks <.KLSE> edged lower with Petronas Gas Bhd losing 1.2 percent and investment holding company Sime Darby Bhd down 1.2 percent.
Thai shares <.SETI> slipped up to 0.5 percent, dragged by banking and energy stocks.
(Reporting by Rashmi Ashok; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
By Rashmi Ashok
