Shares in the Asia-Pacific dropped sharply on Wednesday after indexes on Wall Street plunged following a higher-than-expected U.S. consumer price index report for August.
The Nikkei 225 tumbled 796.01 points, or 2.8%, to 28,614.63.
The Japanese yen earlier hovered around the 145-mark, its weakest levels since September 1998 – before strengthening after a report said the Bank of Japan conducted a “rate check.”
Core machinery orders in Japan jumped 5.3% in July from the previous month, beating expectations for a 0.8% contraction in a Reuters poll.
That figure grew 0.9% in June.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index ditched 479.76 points, or 2.5%, to 18,847.10.
Power tool maker Techtronic Industries dropped more than 10% and e-commerce giant JD.com lost more than 4%.
Bilibili fell more than 6%, while Baidu fell close to 5% – Alibaba also fell more than 4%.
The won in Korea passed the 1,390-mark against the greenback, the weakest levels since March 2009.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 slumped 45.75 points, or 1.1%, to 4,065.36
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index subtracted 32.06 points, or 1%, to 3,258.02.
In Korea, the Kospi index let go of 38.12 points, or 1.6%, to 2,411.42.
In Taiwan, the Taiex jettisoned 236.1 points, or 1.6%, to 14,658.31
In Australia, the ASX 200 stumbled 181.07 points, or 2.6%, to 6,828.62.
In New Zealand, the NZX slid 104.11 points, or 0.9%, to 11,658.04.
