Asia markets ended mostly lower on Tuesday, with Japanese shares losing ground on the back of a stronger yen.
The Nikkei 225 plummeted 390.45 points, or 2.4%, to 15,732.82
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong returned from a long weekend by dropping 321.92 points, or 1.6%, to 20,177
The Japanese yen fell below the 111 level against the dollar, with the U.S. dollar/yen pair at 110.44, its lowest since October 2014. That compares with levels over 112 last week.
Major Japanese exporters were lower, with Toyota finishing down 3.3% Nissan down 3.1% and Honda losing 2.4%. A stronger yen is a negative for exporters as it reduces their overseas profits when converted into local currency.
Experts opined that Japan's Ministry of Finance, which makes the call on intervention, could be waiting for fiscal stimulus from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Australian banks fell with ANZ, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac and NAB - selling off as much as 2.3%
The Australian dollar advanced from levels near $0.7575 to $0.7586 U.S. Tuesday afternoon local time, after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) kept its cash rate steady at 2%; the move that was widely expected. Although the RBA expressed concern about the Australian dollar's recent appreciation, likely in an effort to "jawbone" the currency lower, it rose instead.
In Australia's stock market, shares of Nine Entertainment closed down 23.7% after the company provided a fiscal third-quarter trading update indicating television revenue was down 11% on-year.
Energy plays were mostly lower, with Santos losing 5.3%, Woodside Petroleum closing down 4.2% and Inpex finishing down 4.2%
Markets in Taiwan were shuttered for holiday
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 index gained 42.59 points, or 1.3%, to 3,264.49
Chinese mainland oil plays ended mixed, with Sinopec tacking on 0.8% and China Petroleum down 0.2%
In other markets;
In Korea, the Kospi index slid 16.23 points, or 0.8%, to 1,962.74
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index retreated 34.43 points, or 1.2%, to 2,800.92
New Zealand’s NZX 50 shed 27.79 points, or 0.4%, to 6,715.81
In Australia, the ASX 200 fell 70.93 points, or 1.4%, to 4,924.39
