Japan stocks continued to slide on Tuesday, falling to their lowest settlement in more than six weeks, as the yen headed higher against the greenback.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slid another 344.08 points, or 2%, to 16,755.32, marking its lowest closing level since the end of October.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 357.35 points, or 1.6%, to 22,670.50, after the preliminary version of HSBC’s monthly Chinese manufacturing index showed its first contraction since May.
Meanwhile, the yen, a traditional safe-haven currency, traded substantially higher against the U.S. dollar at ¥117.30 from ¥117.82 a day earlier, as risk-aversion rose on the back of plunging crude-oil prices.
Among market movers, electronics giant NEC Corp. sank 4.6%, console maker Nintendo Co., Ltd. skidded 4%, industrial-robot manufacturer Fanuc Corporation dropped 3%, and electronics maker Fujitsu Ltd. gave up 2.9%.
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index gained 86.17 points, or 2.7%, to 3,303.40, extending a three-session winning streak.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index subtracted 79.05 points, or 2.4%, to 3,215.09
The Taiex index in Taiwan dipped 34.72 points, or 0.4%, to 8,950.91
Korea’s Kospi index eased 16.23 points, or 0.9%, to 1,904.13
New Zealand’s Exchange 50 retreated 3.32 points, or 0.1%, to 5,495.75
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 moved lower 33.73 points, or 0.7%, to 5,152.34
