Markets in Asia tumbled into negative territory in afternoon trade, following another selloff on Wall Street overnight on global growth concerns, uncertainty in China and fresh lows in oil prices.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 subtracted 398.93 points, or 2.4%, to 16,416.19, leaving the index deeper into bear country after losing 3.7% in Wednesday's session. The index is down 22.6% from its 52-week high of 20,686.03, set in June 2015.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dumped 344.15 points, or 1.8%, to 18.542.15, a fresh three-year low in another late afternoon selloff.
According to reports, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank will stick to its 2% inflation target, adding Japan's economic fundamentals remain firm.
Elsewhere, Japanese export stocks closed mostly lower, with Honda down by 4.6%. The dollar-yen pair fell to 116.75. A stronger yen is negative for exporters as it translates into lower revenues when converted back into the local currency.
Sharp shares ended up 5.8% after initially surging by as much as 14.1% following a Wall Street Journal report that Taiwanese manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn, has offered the electronics maker 625 billion yen ($5.3 billion U.S.) to take over the troubled company. Taiwan-listed shares of Hon Hai were down 0.6%
The Hong Kong dollar, pegged to the U.S. dollar, eased off multi-year lows, with the greenback fetching HK$7.8096.
In Australia, the anomalous gainer, financials weighed on the index, and among Australia's so-called Big Four banks, NAB was the only bank to finish up, adding 0.3%.
Large resources producers Rio Tinto gained 1.6%, while BHP Billiton was down 0.1%
Energy plays in Asia were mixed, with Santos gaining 3.2% and South Korea's SK Innovation rising 4.3% by the market close.Woodside Petroleum was down 1.4%, Japan's Inpex lost 1.3% and Japan Petroleum was lower by 1.7%
Hong Kong-listed shares of Sinopec jumped 1.8% after reports that Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco said it was in advanced talks to invest in refineries in China and was in talks with CNPC and Sinopec for investments in refining, marketing and petrochemicals.
In South Korea, shares of Hyundai Merchant Marine surged 29.8% after reports said the company was considering the sale of its bulk shipping business to private equity firm Hahn & Company for about 600 billion won ($496.86 million U.S.).
CHINA
The CSI 300 Index lost 93.03 points, or 2.9%, to 3,081.35.
Mainland brokerages and banks slipped in late-afternoon trade, withCitic Securities sliding by 4.2%, Bank of China falling 1.2% and China Construction Bank closing down 1.2%
Before markets opened, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) set its yuan mid-point fix at 6.5585, keeping it relatively stable compared with previous fixes in the week.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index slid 27.07 points, or 1.1%, to 2,532.70
The Kospi in Korea dropped 4.92 points, or 0.3%, to 1,840.53
Taiwan’s Taiex index erased 35.11 points, or 0.5%, to 7,664.01
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 fell 32.82 points, or 0.5%, to 6,080.90
The ASX 200 defied much of the region and actually gained 22.48 points, or 0.5%, to 4,864.
