South Korea's Kospi is among the biggest fallers, down 3.2 percent.
In China, too, shares are declining. Shenzhen is down 1.8 percent and Shanghai is slightly lower, at 0.8 percent.
Japan's Nikkei 225 followed suit, falling 1.3 percent. The broader Topix, however, bucked the trend, rising 0.8 percent.
The Hong Kong-based Hang Seng is also up 1.0 percent.
