Japanese stocks recorded their biggest drop in two months on Thursday, taking cues from a steep decline in the U.S. markets overnight.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index caved 275.08 points, or 1.4%, to 19,471.12, marking its biggest daily percentage drop since mid-January.
The yen advanced versus the greenback, with the U.S. dollar buying ¥118.57, compared with ¥119.65 at the previous Tokyo stock close.
The Hang Seng Index receded 31.15 points, or 0.1%, to 24,497.08
Among market movers, semiconductor supplier Tokyo Electron Ltd. sank 5.8%, electronic components manufacturer TDK Corporation slid 4.5%, media conglomerate Sony Corporation pulled back 3.3%, and console maker Nintendo Co., Ltd. gave up 3%.
The declines came on the heels of Wednesday's nearly 300-point drop for the Dow Jones Industrial Average as investors got jittery about earnings and weak durable-goods orders.
Energy prices were the exception, surging on news of the conflict in Yemen. Reports of Saudi Arabian airstrikes in Yemen, which is one of the world’s main transit points for seaborne oil, sent prices of crude higher Wednesday and Thursday.
In other markets
The Shanghai CSI 300 regained 9.59 points, or 0.2%, to 3,950
The Taiex index in Taiwan moved lower 48.71 points, or 0.5%, to 9,619.12
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index edged up 12.57 points, or 0.4%, to 3,431.59
The Kospi index in Korea dropped 20.25 points, or 1%, to 2,022.56
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 fell 24.61 points, or 0.4%, to 5,833.17
The S&P/ASX index tumbled 94.26 points, or 1.6%, to 5,879.06
