Asian markets declined Monday on mounting fears about the U.S. economy as well as a sell-off on Wall Street, with Tokyo and Hong Kong hit by banks such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and HSBC Holdings, while steelmakers weighed in Shanghai and Seoul.
Shanghai-listed shares were the worst hit, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite, which tracks both the yuan-denominated A shares and the foreign currency denominated B-shares, sinking as much as 5.6% to 3,296.57.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index dropped 3.5% to 23,811.20. Japan's 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average, meanwhile, ended the day down 3.1% at 12,917.51.
Banking stocks performed poorly in Tokyo and Hong Kong. Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ dropped 3.7%, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group lost 4.2% in Tokyo.
In Hong Kong, shares of market heavyweight HSBC Holdings dropped 1.6%, while Industrial & Commercial Bank of China fell 5.9% to halt a three-day winning run.
Elsewhere:
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index lost 1.8% to 5,342.40.
South Korea's Kospi shed 1.9% to 1,746.71.
New Zealand's NZX 50 index slipped 0.5% to 3,470.96.
Taiwan's Weighted index fell 0.2% to 8,892.68
with files from other wire services
