Asian stocks stumbled to their lowest levels in several months on Wednesday, with bourses in Japan, Hong Kong, China, Australia and South Korea dropping at least 2%, as worries about the U.S. economy and global financial sector sparked a regional sell-off.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng index sank 5.4 percent — its biggest percentage drop since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks - to 24,450.85.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index fell 3.4 percent to 13,504.51 points, its lowest in more than two years.
Blue-chips such as Canon Inc., steelmaker JFE Holdings, real estate major Mitsuo Fudosan, banking giant Mizuho Financial Group and Sony Corp. joined Toyota and Honda to touch at least their 52-week lows.
Toyota shares dropped 4%, Honda slumped 4.9%, Canon gave up 2.6%, Sony lost 6.8%, Mitsuo Fudosan sank 3.1% and JFE shed 4.8% during the session.
In China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.8 percent to 5,290.60. The index has gained 0.6 percent since the beginning of the year, compared with losses in nearly all other Asian markets.
Elsewhere:
SEOUL: South Korea's Kospi slid 2.4% to 1,704.97.
TAIPEI: Taiwan's Weighted index declined 3% to 8,179.54, reversing direction after two days of steep gains.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand's NZX 50 index gave up 1.5% to 3,752.39.
SYDNEY: Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 2.5% at 5,809.70.
with files from other wire services
