Asian stocks closed sharply lower on Wednesday, after Wall Street sold off as much as 2% overnight amid a plunge in oil prices.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 tumbled 559.43 points, or 3.2%, to 17,191.25,
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong lost 455.25 points, or 2.3%, to 18,991.59
Japanese exporters closed mostly down, with major names such as Toyota, Nissan and Honda losing up 5.9%. The dollar-yen pair traded 0.3% down at 119.54 against the U.S. dollar. A stronger yen is a negative for export stocks as it reduces overseas revenue when converted to local currency.
Shares of Nintendo gave up morning gains to finish 1.7% lower. The video game-maker released its third-fiscal-quarter earnings after market close on Tuesday, revealing a 36% on-year fall in net profit to 29.1 billion yen ($241.3 million U.S.), down from 45.2 billion, after a lack of high-profile game titles hit sales.
Nomura shares tumbled 10.3% after reports said the company's net profit for the October-December quarter fell 49% on-year to 35.4 billion yen.
In South Korea, blue chip stocks ended mostly lower, with Samsung Electronics losing 0.9%, Posco down 2% and Kepco shedding 0.6%
Energy plays were broadly negative across the board. In Australia, Santos lost 5.1%, Oil Search was down 1.1% and Woodside Petroleum shed 5%.
Japan's Inpex fell 1.6% and Japan Petroleum declined 3.1%, while South Korea's S-Oil was down 1.1%
Hong Kong-listed shares of CNOOC were down 4.4%, while Petrochina fell 4.4%
NAB, one of Australia's so-called Big Four banks, finished 5.6% lower after reports said the bank had set a final offer price for its Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks initial public offering in the United Kingdom at 100 pence ($1.44 U.S.) a share.
Most mining stocks ended down, with BHP Billiton losing as much as 4.4%. On the other hand, iron ore producer Fortescue gained 1.9%
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 slid 12.69 points, or 0.4%, to 2,948.64
The losses on the mainland came despite China's Caixin purchasing managers' index for the services sector showing activity expanded at its fastest pace in six months in January. The index rose to 52.4 in January from a 17-month low reading of 50.2 in December.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index stumbled 28.49 points, or 1.1%, to 2,550.74
The Kospi in Korea subtracted 15.93 points, or 0.8%, to 1,890.67
Taiwan’s Taiex index faded 68.24 points, or 0.8%, to 8,063
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 subtracted 46.7 points, or 0.8%, to 6,133.38
In Australia, the ASX 200 index plummeted 116.56 points, or 2.3%, to 4,876.76
