Asia-Pacific markets saw a wide selloff, with South Korea, Hong Kong, and mainland Chinese markets seeing losses of about 2% each.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 thundered lower 611.63 points, or 1.9%, to 31,430.62, for its largest single-day loss in two weeks.
Japan recorded a higher than expected trade surplus of 62.4 billion yen ($416.6 million U.S.) for September, while data from Australia showed its unemployment rate fell to 3.6% last month.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng plunged 436.33 points, or 2.5%, to 17,295.39.
Korean markets also plummeted as the Bank of Korea kept its interest rates steady at 3.5% for the sixth time in a row.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 sank 77.04 points, or 2.1%, to 3,533.54, hovering near a 12-month low.
In Taiwan, the Taiex recovered 11.82 points, or 0.1%, to 16,452.73.
In Korea, the Kospi index deleted 46.8 points, or 1.9%, to 2,415.80.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index faded 37.08 points, or 1.2%, to 3,099.60.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 subtracted 85.9 points, or 0.8%, to 11,135.59.
In Australia, the ASX 200 dropped 96 points, or 1.4%, to 6,981.60.
