The leading Asian stock exchanges took a cue from Wall Street and began Tuesday's trading down in a situation where the global market's concern over Donald Trump's trade policy is growing.
In Tokyo, the important Nikkei 225 index had lost 1.5 percent by lunchtime, while the broader Topix index decreased 1.8 percent.
Even from Hong Kong, dismal tones were heard as the Hang Seng index fell 0.9 percent.
The composite index in Shanghai and Shenzhen was not much happier, losing 0.5 and 0.7 percent, respectively.
