Asian stock markets declined for the second day Tuesday as concerns over a slower economic growth in China and Greece's debt deal dampened sentiment.

The Japanese benchmark, Nikkei, declined 0.63 percent or 60.96 points to 9,637.63, Chinese Shanghai Composite fell 1.41 percent to 2,410.00 and Hong Kong' Hang Seng plunged 2.16 percent or 459.06 points to 20,806.25, while South Korea's Seoul Composite slipped 0.78 percent.

Concerns over potentially slower growth in China, the world's second largest economy, continued to weigh on sentiment, prompting investors to cash in recent gainers.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao Monday cut his nation's growth target to 7.5 per cent for 2012, the lowest since 2004. This is clearly a decrease from the rate of growth of the last few years. In 2011 and 2010, the economy grew at the rate of 9.2 percent and 10.4 percent, respectively.

Commodity-related stocks came under pressure on demand worries. Aluminum Corp of China and Zijin Mining Group shares slumped more than 5 percent in Hong Kong.

In Japan, Pioneer Corp. plunged 5.11 percent and Nippon Yusen declined 2.51 percent while Fanuc Corp. and Komatsu Ltd. declined more than 2 percent.

Meanwhile, uncertainty over Greece also added to the downbeat sentiment. Greece needs to complete a bond exchange with private holders, scheduled to close on March 8, before a second bailout is paid, but there is still uncertainty over how much participation Athens will see for its bond swap, Reuters reported.

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