Stocks in Asia slipped on Monday afternoon as investors remained cautious, following global losses in the previous week.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 stumbled 423.36 points, or 1.9%, to 22,271.30, The Japanese yen was at 111.73 against the U.S. dollar after strengthening from levels above 113.8 last week
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index thundered lower 356.43 points, or 1.4%, to 25,445.06
Korean markets backpedaled with industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics slipping by 0.5% and chipmaker SK Hynix falling by 2.9%.
Australian markets also lost ground, with most sectors lower. The heavily weighted financial sub-index fell 1.6% as major banking shares saw losses — Commonwealth Bank was down 2.1%, ANZ fell 1.9%, Westpac was lower by 1.6% and the National Australia Bank declined by 1.6%
Softbank saw its stock plunging by more than 7.2% on Monday over concerns of the company's ties to Saudi Arabia, which is under mounting pressure internationally following the disappearance of a prominent journalist who was a critic of the administration.
The Saudi journalist and U.S. resident, Jamal Khashoggi, has been missing since he was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Saudi Arabia has denied it was involved in Khashoggi's disappearance.
The Australian dollar traded at $0.7127 U.S. after seeing gains from around 0.705 in the previous week.
CHINA
The CSI 300 surrendered 44.28 points, or 1.4%, to 3,126.45
The moves in China came as new reserve requirements for lenders went into effect, in a move by the People's Bank of China which is expected to inject 750 billion yuan (around $108.4 billion U.S.) into the banking system.
Trade tensions between the U.S. and China remain a focus for investors. On Sunday, China's central bank governor Yi Gang said the People's Bank of China still has "plenty of monetary instruments" and "room for adjustment" with respect to countering the impact of a trade war.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times STI index faded 23.2 points, or 0.8%, to 3,045.97
In Taiwan, the Taiex index lost 144.69 points, or 1.4%, to 9,901.12
In Korea, the Kospi index dipped 16.73 points, or 0.8%, to 2,145.12
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 docked 5.17 points, or 0.1%, to 8,838.07
In Australia, the ASX 200 slid 58.57 points, or 1%, to 5,837.10
