TOKYO - Japanese stocks ended 1.83 percent down at a three-week low Thursday, hit by a fall on Wall Street amid growing concerns over the pace of the US recovery, analysts said.

The benchmark Nikkei-225 index fell 183.95 points to 9,891.10, the first close below 10,000 since October 8 and a third consecutive daily loss.

The broader Topix index of all first section shares dropped 6.54 points, or 0.74 percent, to 882.26.

"The next Wall Street session will be very important," said Yumi Nishimura, a market analyst at Daiwa Securities SMBC.

"Traders are waiting to see how the US market will react to GDP data," she told Dow Jones Newswires. The US gross domestic product data for the third quarter are due later in the day.

New York stocks tumbled Wednesday in their worst loss this month following an unexpected decline in new home sales and dampening consumer sentiment, analysts said.

They are also concerned that a premature raise in global interest rates may hamper a nascent recovery, said Hideaki Higashi, a strategist at SMBC Friend Securities.

"Funds are flowing out of stocks as the market is factoring in tightening financial policies," he said, noting the Reserve Bank of India had begun unwinding extraordinary stimulus measures.

A recent rate hike in Australia fuelled speculation other central banks may follow suit and US Federal Reserve policymakers are speculated to be turning more hawkish.

The Nikkei index could fall to as low as 9,500 in the coming days, Higashi said.

Weakness in other Asian markets, particularly in Shanghai, also weighed on Japan's major indexes Thursday, analysts said.

Nippon Steel, which reported a smaller-than-expected net loss intraday, recovered most of its early losses, closing down 0.3 percent at 338 yen.

Nomura shares eked out a gain of 0.5 percent to 646 yen after the firm reported its second consecutive quarterly profit after the Wednesday close.