Asia's stock indexes were largely lower on Thursday, on continued emerging markets fears, and following a selloff in tech stocks overnight on Wall Street.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 92.89 points, or 0.4%, to 22,487.94, as electricity generator and distributor Hokkaido Electric Power's stock fell by 6.4% on the back of a powerful earthquake which earlier left residents of the island without electricity.
The Japanese yen held on to gains against the U.S. dollar at 111.34
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng was bruised 269.03 points, or 1%, to 26,974.82
Korea’s losses were less pronounced, as major tech names such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix saw losses. Samsung Publishing, however, surged ahead for another consecutive day. The company continued its winning streak since its cover of the children's song "Baby Shark" cracked the top 40 on the U.K. charts late last month, closing higher by 13.2%
In Australia, indexes faded, as the telecommunications sector ended up lower by 2.6% after Telstra lowered its guidance for fiscal 2019 to account for the release of the corporate plan for Australia's National Broadband Network. Telstra's shares closed 3.3% higher for the trading day.
As well, the Australian dollar lost its earlier gains to trade lower at $0.7168 U.S.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 lost 35.26 points, or 1.1%, to 3,262.88
The ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China could also intensify this week, with President Donald Trump reportedly saying over the weekend that he is ready to impose tariffs on an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese imports as soon as the public comment period ends on Thursday.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times STI index ditched 8.59 points, or 0.3%, to 3,147.69
In Korea, the Kospi index regressed 4.16 points, or 0.2%, to 2,287.61
In Taiwan, the Taiex index slid 70.83 points, or 0.6%, to 10,924.30
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 slouched 126.4 points, or 1.4%, to 9,101.60
In Australia, the ASX 200 subtracted 70.03 points, or 1.1%, to 6,160.42
