Asia-Pacific markets largely fell after notching some gains on Wednesday as an uptick in Treasury yields and oil prices dented investor sentiment on Wall Street.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 collapsed 499.38 points, or 1.5%, to 31,872.52, the first time in about a month that the index has fallen below the 32,000 mark,
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index withered 238.84 points, or 1.4%, to 17,373.03, after the exchange announced that shares of embattled Chinese real estate firm Evergrande have been suspended.
Australian markets backpedaled. Seasonally adjusted retail sales in Australia climbed 0.2% in August compared to the prior month. It was slower than the 0.3% expected by economists polled by Reuters.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed retail sales coming in at A$35.4 billion ($22.56 billion U.S.), 1.5% higher than the same period a year ago.
In other markets
Markets in Korea were shuttered for holiday.
The CSI 300 doffed 10.98 points, or 0.3%, to 3,689.52.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index gained 43.38 points, or 0.3%, to 16,353.74.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index added 6.96 points, or 0.2%, to 3,206.99.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 hurtled lower 138.77 points, or 1.2%, to 11,178.04.
In Australia, the ASX 200 retreated 5.59 points, or 0.1%, to 7,024.76.
