Asia markets stumbled on Monday, with the Japanese benchmark index tumbling over 3% and Australian bank shares selling off.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index returned from a long weekend to dump 518.67 points, or 3.1%, to 16,147.38
Markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taiwan and Singapore were closed for May Day.
Major Japanese exporters sold off sharply, with shares of Toyota closing down 3.8%, Nissan down 5% and Honda off 4% in the wake of a stronger yen, which is usually negative for exporters as it makes their products less competitive overseas and decreases their overseas profits when converted back into the Japanese currency.
The Japanese yen traded at 106.51 against the U.S. dollar on Monday, up 0.2% from an earlier low of 106.14. But that still marks a significantly stronger Japanese currency, as the pair traded at the lower range of the 107 level on Friday afternoon Asia time and at levels above 111 last week.
Sony shares dropped 4% after the company reported a loss of 88.3 billion yen for the fiscal fourth quarter on Thursday after the market close.
Airbag maker Takata saw its shares tumble 9.3% after Reuters reported more than 100 million vehicles globally are likely to be subject to recalls over the company's problematic airbag inflators.
Panasonic dropped 7.4% after Reuters reported the company said its profit is likely to fall this fiscal year.
Down under, Australia's major banks dropped, with shares of Westpac closing down 3.5%. The bank announced results for the six months ended March 31, 2016, on Monday morning, with cash earnings up 3% to 3.9 billion Australian dollars ($2.96 billion U.S.) on-year, missing the forecast for A$4.07 billion from six analysts.
The country's other major banks also sold off, with shares of ANZ down 2.2% , Commonwealth Bank of Australia down 2.1% andNational Australia Bank dropping 2.1%
The Australian dollar was up 0.1% at $0.7608 U.S., after falling from levels above $0.77 last week on the back of weaker-than-expected inflation data. The Aussie will be in focus this week as the Reserve Bank of Australia meets on Tuesday, with some analysts expecting further easing of its monetary policy.
Shares of Virgin Australia gave up gains to close down 5.7%, following the company's announcement that it will cut capacity by 5.1% in the fiscal fourth quarter, citing uncertainties around the upcoming Federal election, weak consumer demand and the downturn in the resources sector.
Energy plays were mixed in Asia, with shares of Santos finishing down 1.7%, Woodside Petroleum up 1.4% and Inpex dropping 3.8%
In other markets;
In Korea, the Kospi index retreated 16 points, or 0.8%, to 1,978.15
New Zealand’s NZX 50 lost 28.77 points, or 0.4%, to 6,791.82
The ASX 200 subtracted 9.25 points, or 0.2%, to 5,242.97
