Stocks in Asia were mostly on the down side Tuesday, with Japanese stocks in particular buzzing over legal goings-on in the automotive field.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 docked 238.04 points, or 1.1%, to 21,583.12
Shares of Japanese automaker Nissan fell 5.5% on Tuesday after its chairman, Carlos Ghosn, was arrested a day earlier over allegations of financial misconduct.
The auto giant said in a statement on Monday that "over many years" Ghosn and board director Greg Kelly had been under-reporting compensation amounts to the Tokyo Stock Exchange securities report.
Nissan added that, with regard to Ghosn, "numerous other significant acts of misconduct have been uncovered, such as personal use of company assets." The company said Ghosn had also made inappropriate investments.
In a press conference Monday, Nissan Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa, said both men had been arrested and this Thursday he would propose to the Nissan Board of Directors to remove them from their roles.
Ghosn is also chairman and CEO of the strategic alliance between French automaker Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors. Mitsubishi Motors shares were down 6.9%
The Japanese yen, widely viewed as a safe haven currency, was at 112.47 against the U.S. dollar after seeing lows around the 112.8 handle yesterday.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index stumbled 531.66 points, or 2%, to 25,840.34
Australian markets also dipped, with almost all sectors in negative territory. The Australian dollar traded at $0.7284 U.S. after seeing an earlier high of $0.7300.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 lost 76.19 points, or 2.3%, to 3,218.41
Tech shares also fell after The Financial Times reported Chinese authorities have alleged "massive evidence" of antitrust violations by Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron Technology. The report also said China would deepen its investigation into the three companies, which are the largest memory-chip manufacturers in the world.
Shares of Samsung Electronics fell 2% on Tuesday while SK Hynix shares were down 3.3%.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex index slumped 84.7 points, or 0.9%, to 9,743.99
In Korea, the Kospi index sank 17.98 points, or 0.9%, at 2,082.58
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dropped 38.08 points, or 1.2%, to 3,026.99
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 moved backward 72.63 points, or 0.8%, to 8,792.93
In Australia, the ASX 200 slipped 21.87 points, or 0.4%, to 5,671.79
