Asian shares skidded today, taking their cue from steep losses on Wall Street as an overnight rout in oil prices heightened worries about the global economy. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.7 per cent in early trade. Japan's Nikkei shed 3.3 per cent, as downbeat domestic data added to the gloom. Japan's core machinery orders fell 14.4 per cent in November from the previous month, down for the first time in three months and marking a bigger decline than economists' median estimate for a 7.9 per cent drop.Wednesday, better than expected China trade data lifted Asian sentiment and gave equities and commodities prices a much needed boost. But those gains unraveled later in the global session and major US stock indexes finished with sharp losses.