Asian shares fell sharply Wednesday as widening sovereign debt problems in Europe hit financial and resource stocks, while Japanese exporters were also hurt by a strengthened yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 collapsed 287.87 points, or 2.6%, to 10,924.79
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index erased another 312.39 points, or 1.5%, to 20,949.40
The region-wide decline came after European stocks and Wall Street had tumbled Tuesday after ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgraded Greece's government debt to junk status and cut Portugal's rating by two levels.
The action revived worries about possible contagion from Greece and increased uncertainty about the outlook for other indebted euro-zone nations. Still, the decline in most regional markets was less than on Wall Street overnight.
In currency trading, the euro slumped as low as $1.3140 as investors bailed out of riskier assets, before recovering modestly. The U.S. dollar also rose against most Asian currencies on risk aversion, while the Australian dollar fell as low as $0.9153 against the greenback.
The Tokyo market was hit by falls in exporters on the yen's rise Tuesday against the dollar and euro. Despite strong earnings results from Japanese companies, "the stronger yen has a much bigger impact," said one expert, who added some of the positive sentiment stemming from strong results had already been priced into the market.
Financial stocks broadly ended lower, with HSBC Holdings falling 2.9% in Hong Kong, DBS Group Holdings sliding 2.7% in Singapore trading, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group sliding 2% in Tokyo, KB Financial dropping 3.4% in Seoul.
Energy producers also lost ground as crude-oil prices fell in response to the U.S. dollar's strength. Cnooc dropped 1.8% in Hong Kong and Woodside Petroleum gave up 1.5% in Sydney, with Inpex Corp. losing 3% in Tokyo.
Sony Corp. fell 3.4%, Canon lost 2.5% and in the auto sector, Honda Motor Co. gave up 1.5%.
Softbank Corp., Japan's third-largest mobile phone carrier by subscribers, was down 3.3% despite Tuesday posting a strong fourth-quarter net profit of 1.85 billion yen ($19.7 million U.S.), compared with a net loss of 15.01 billion yen a year earlier.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index finished at its lowest level in more than a month on across-the-board sales. BHP Billiton lost 2.2% and Commonwealth Bank of Australia fell 0.7%.
In Singapore, the opening of Marina Bay Sands casino-resort on Tuesday weighed on retail mall and gaming plays due to concerns that Las Vegas Sands-run hotel and gaming complex will pose serious competition. Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust fell 0.7% and Genting Singapore lost 0.6%.
CHINA
Mainland Chinese shares stretched their losing run as concerns over further tightening measures continued to hurt investor confidence.
China's Shanghai CSI 300 composite index fell 11.06 points, or 0.4%, to 2,932.04
Jiangxi Copper lost 1.5%, Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co. dropped 2.5% and Poly Real Estate Co. declined 1.9%.
Elsewhere;
Korea’s Kospi index slid 15.64 points, or 0.9%, to 1,733.91
Singapore’s Straits Times Index lost 59.64 points, or 2%, to 2,932.04
Taiwan’s Taiex index shed 11.35 points or 0.3% to 8,081.55
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index subtracted 11.35 points, or 0.3%, to 3,280.56
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 stepped back 57.20 points, or 1.2%, to 4,822.80
