Japanese stocks led losses in Asia-Pacific markets on Tuesday as risk-off sentiment took hold.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost 475.64 points, or 1.8%, to 26,336.66. Tech-related stocks such as SoftBank Group deducted 4.3% and Fanuc lost 4.5%
In company news, Japanese automaker Toyota Motor on Monday said it was extending the suspension of one production line at its Motomachi plant to investigate the cause of a recall for one of its models.
About 4,000 units will be affected by the suspension, and the global production plan will not be changed, the company said. Toyota’s shares were down 1.7%.
The Japanese yen traded at 137.38 per U.S. dollar, after weakening past 137 against the greenback on Monday.
The Bank of Japan’s commitment to low interest rates is increasingly an anomaly, and has caused the yen to weaken.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 279.46 points, or 1.3%, to 20,844.74.
Chinese electric car maker BYD’s Hong Kong-listed shares plunged more than 9%, and heavyweight Alibaba lost around 5%.
Electric vehicle maker Nio’s U.S.-listed shares slid nearly 9% overnight on COVID concerns in China, and its shares in Hong Kong tumbled 5.2%.
The Australian dollar weakened sharply this week, and was last at $0.6722.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 slid 41 points, or 0.9%, to 4,313.62.
In Taiwan, the Taiex collapsed 389.91 points, or 2.7%, to 13,950.62.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index returned to trading after a long weekend with a gain of 14.51 points, or 0.5%, to 3,145.77
In Korea, the Kospi dropped 22.51 points, or 1%, to 2,317.76.
In Australia, the ASX 200 poked higher 4.13 points to 6,606.28.
In New Zealand, the NZX lopped off 2.75 points to 11,103.39