Oil futures jumped and Asia-Pacific shares fell on Thursday as investors watched the escalating situation between Russia and Ukraine.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan returned from holiday to duck 478.79 points, or 1.8%, to 25,970.82.
The Japanese yen traded at 114.44 per U.S. dollar,
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index suffered a loss of 758.72 points, or 3.2%, to 22,901.56.
The Bank of Korea kept interest rates unchanged at 1.25% at its meeting on Thursday. However, it predicted that consumer price inflation will run “substantially above 3% for a considerable time.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a public address that he had authorized a military operation in Ukraine, and NBC News reported explosions were heard in Kyiv.
Shares of Chinese artificial intelligence firm SenseTime Group plunged around 11% after Hang Seng Indexes announced that its weighting in the Hang Seng Tech index when it is included in March would be 0.24%, revised down from 3.94%.
the Australian dollar was at $0.7177 after falling from $0.7233.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 weakened 93.73 points, or 2%, to 4,529.32.
In Singapore, the Straits Times index fell 116.94 points, or 3.5%, to 3,276.06.
In Korea, the Kospi index dipped 70.73 points, or 2.6% to 2,648.80
In Taiwan, the Taiex gave back 461.18 points, or 2.6%, to 17,594.55
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 slid 401.87 points, or 3.3%, to 11,732.55.
In Australia, the ASX 200 swung lower 215.06 points, or 3%, to 6,990.63.
