Most Asian markets extended their recent losses Tuesday in a session marked by volatility, with Hong Kong stocks finishing lower for the fourth session in a row and Mumbai shares on the way down for their fifth.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index declined 0.6 percent to 13,857.47 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed 0.1 percent to close at 22,714.96 points.
Shares of Advantest Corp. lost 2.7% and Elpida Memory Inc. gave up 3.7% to rank among the losers, after technology shares extended declines overnight on Wall Street.
Exporters were mixed, with Toyota Motor Corp. slipping 1.5% on high crude-oil prices, while Nikon Corp. advanced 0.6% on a weakened yen.
Elsewhere:
South Korea's Kospi shed 0.3% to 1,710.84.
New Zealand's NZX 50 index rose 0.3% to 3,298.18.
Taiwan's Weighted index dropped 1.8% to 7,738.12.
Singapore's Straits Times Index lost 0.4% to 2,967.86 by late afternoon.
The Shanghai composite index finished down 2.5 percent at 2,760.42.
with files from other wire services
