China's stocks were suspended from all trade on Thursday after the CSI300 tumbled more than 7% in early trade, triggering the market's circuit breaker for a second time this week.
That drop-kicked stock markets across Asia, which were already wallowing after a weaker open amid concerns over China's swooning currency and economic slowdown as well as falling oil prices.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 423.98 points, or 2.3%, to 17,767.34.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 647.47 points, or 3.1%, to 20,333.34
In Japan, major exporters such as Toyota, Nissan and Sony were down as much as 3.5%. Exporters can be hit when the yen strengthens as it weighs on repatriated earnings. The Japanese yen, considered a safe-haven currency, continued to weaken in Thursday trade, with the U.S. dollar fetching around 117.93 yen, compared with as much as 118.75 before the China trade halt.
Energy plays in Australia saw steep losses on the back of lower oil prices, with Woodside shedding 5.1% and Santos losing 7.4%. In Japan, Inpex closed down 5.2% and Japan Petroleum closed down 3.1%.
Resources producers in Australia closed lower, with Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton each seeing losses of 4.8%. Gold miners, on the other hand, saw slight uptick in their stocks, with Alacer Gold tacking on 5.1% and Newcrest adding 1%.
In Korea, the tech sector saw some early losses with shares of Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDI and SK Hynix in the red.
South Korean defense stocks, which saw sharp upticks in the previous session following reports of North Korea's purported nuclear test traded lower, falling as much as 10.4%.
CHINA
The CSI 300 Index subtracted 245.42 points, or 6.9%, to 3,294.38.
The CSI 300, the benchmark index against which China's new circuit breakers are set, plunged 7.2% intraday. If that index rises or falls 5%, the market halts all trade for 15 minutes. If it subsequently falls by 7%, trading is suspended for the rest of the day.
In total Thursday, China shares only traded around 15 minutes.
Before trade, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the yuan midpoint at 6.5646 per dollar, 0.5% weaker than Wednesday's fix, the biggest fall between daily fixings since the devaluation began in mid-August. In spot trade, the dollar-yuan pair was at 6.5906. Expectations the yuan will continue to weaken may spur outflows from China investments.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index slid 74.36 points, or 2.7%, to 2,729.91
The Kospi in Korea docked 21.1 points, or 1.1%, to 1,904.33
Taiwan’s Taiex index slumped 138.33 points, or 1.7%, to 7,852.06
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 dipped 49.13 points, or 0.8%, to 6,213.39
The ASX 200 stumbled 112.79 points, or 2.2%, to 5,010.34
