Asian Shares Sharply Lower, Tokyo Dips 4% After Wall Street Retreat

Asian shares tumbled to begin the week, with Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 plunging more than 4% after another heavy selloff on Wall Street, Stan Choe and Matt Ott reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Tokyo’s benchmark index fell 4.1% to 35,615.15, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1% to 23,200.65.

Thailand’s SET index declined 0.9% after a powerful earthquake centered in Myanmar rattled the region, causing widespread destruction in the country—also known as Burma—and some damage in Bangkok, including the collapse of a high-rise office building under construction.

Tokyo’s benchmark index fell 4.1% to 35,615.15, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1% to 23,200.65. The Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.5% to 3,333.66.

In South Korea, the Kospi fell 2.6% to 2,492.49, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 sank 1.6% to 7,856.80. Taiwan’s Taiex declined 3.4%.

On Friday, the S&P 500 dropped 2% to 5,580.94, marking one of its worst days in the past two years. It was the index’s fifth losing week in the last six. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 715 points, or 1.7%, to 41,583.90, while the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 2.7% to 17,322.99.