Markets in Asia traded lower on Wednesday, following an overnight drop in U.S. stocks as investors worried about rising interest rates and the outlook of the economy.
The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 62.8 points, or 0.3%, to close Wednesday at 22,215.32
Shares of Takeda Pharmaceutical dropped 7% after news emerged that the company increased its acquisition offer for London-listed drugmaker Shire, to about 46 billion pounds ($64 billion U.S.).
The Japanese yen traded at 109.10 to the U.S. dollar while the euro fetched $1.2211.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index shed 308.09 points, or 1%, to 30,328.15
On Wednesday afternoon during Asian hours, oil prices were down a notch — U.S. crude was lower by 0.1% to $67.61 and global benchmark Brent declined 0.1% to $73.77 a barrel.
In other markets
In China, the CSI 300 fell 14.79 points, or 0.4%, to 3,828.70
In Korea, the Kospi Index docked 15.33 points, or 0.6%, to 2,444.81
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index lost 16.55 points, or 0.5%, to 3,568.01
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index faded 19.53 points, or 0.2%, to 10,559.97
Markets in Australia and New Zealand were closed for ANZAC Day
