Asian stocks mostly fell Wednesday, with Japan and Hong Kong hurt by a steep sell-off on Wall Street Tuesday.
The Nikkei Stock Average ended at 15,932.26, down 112 points, or 0.7 percent. The broader Topix index was down 0.6 percent at 1,556.93.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 2.4 percent, or 705 points, to close at 28,521.06. The China Enterprises Index, or shares of mainland companies listed in Hong Kong, fell 3.1 percent to 16,962.
Decliners in Hong Kong included real estate group Cheung Kong, whose shares fell 2.1 percent. Sun Hung Kai Properties, owner of the city's tallest skyscraper, fell 2.5 percent and Sino Land gave up 5.4 percent.
Shares of HSBC fell 1.6 percent and Hang Seng Bank was down 2.9 percent. Standard Chartered, which also announced a quarter-point cut in lending rates late day, saw its shares tumble 4.2 percent.
Property-related shares in Tokyo also traded weaker, with Mitsubishi Estate shedding 2.5 percent.
Canon led export-related shares broadly lower on concerns the stronger yen will depress overseas earnings. Shares of Canon fell 2.4 percent. Among other exporters, Toyota Motor Corp.'s shares dropped 0.6 percent. Shares of Sony Corp. shrugged off a weak start to 0.2 percent higher.
Hong Kong-listed shares of CSCL and those of fellow shipper China Cosco fell 12.5 percent and 8.4 percent respectively.
In other Tokyo trading, shares of Clarion Co. jumped 6.2 percent on reports the audio specialist will form a joint venture with its parent Hitachi Ltd to develop car information systems. Shares of Hitachi Ltd. were up 2 percent.
ELSEWHERE:
MUMBAI: India's Sensex index closed up 0.5 percent.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's KLSE Index was down 0.7 percent.
JAKARTA: Indonesia's benchmark Jakarta Composite shed 0.5 percent.
SEOUL: South Korea's Kospi index bounced from an early deficit to end 0.1 percent higher.
SINGAPORE: The Straits Times Index fell 1.1 percent.
TAIPEI: Taiwan's Weighted Price Index fell 1.7 percent.
SYDNEY: Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index declined 1 percent.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand's NZX 50 index gave up 0.7 percent.
with files from other wire services
