South Korea's Kospi has been on a shaky trend recently, falling sharply last week. The index is also down on Tuesday, falling 2.6 percent by lunchtime.
South Korean technology giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are down 1.2 and 3.1 percent, respectively.
Japan's Tokyo Stock Exchange is also falling, but more moderately. The Nikkei 225 is down 0.6 percent at midday, while the broader Topix is down 0.9 percent.
In China, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange rose 0.4 percent while Shanghai was flat. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.9 percent.
