Mainland Chinese indexes led losses as Asia-Pacific markets fell sharply on Monday following a selloff on Wall Street on Friday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 514.48 points, or 1.9%, to 27,105.26,
Nissan’s shares closed 5.1% lower following a Bloomberg report that Renault may sell part of its stake in the Japanese company in order to focus more on electric vehicles.
The Japanese yen was last trading at 128.07 per U.S. dollar. It crossed the 129 level last week before strengthening slightly.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong plummeted 769.18 points, or 3.7%, to 19,869.34.
Shares of Chinese video company Bilibili plunged 5.2% in Hong Kong, and Alibaba’s Hong Kong-listed shares slipped 5%.
On the economic data front, Singapore reported that its core inflation rate rose by 2.9% in March compared with a year ago, the fastest pace in a decade.
The increase was driven by higher inflation for food and services, authorities said. A Reuters poll of analysts forecasted that core inflation would grow by 2.4%.
The Australian dollar was at $0.7162, down slightly from last week.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 rebounded 17.42 points, or 0.4%, to 4,013.25.
China has been struggling to contain its worst outbreak of the virus despite harsh lockdowns in its largest city, Shanghai. Over the weekend, officials in the capital Beijing, warned that the virus has been spreading undetected for about a week.
Chinese telecommunications company ZTE will report earnings on Monday.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index flopped 21.52 12.65 points, or 0.6%, to 3,339.59
In Korea, the Kospi index slid 47.58 points, or 1.8%, to 2,657.13.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index slouched 404.19 points, or 2.4%, to 16,620.90.
Markets in Australia and New Zealand were shuttered for ANZAC Day.
