Asia report: Markets fall on back of Wall Street losses

Markets in Asia finished in the red on Thursday, following on from some deep losses on Wall Street overnight.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was 3.72% lower at 21,268.73, as the yen weakened 0.01% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 112.27.

The broader Topix index was down 3.1% at 1,600.92 in Tokyo.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite eked out gains of 0.02% to close at 2,603.80, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite was 0.34% softer at 1,292.80.

South Korea’s Kospi was off 1.63% at 2,063.30, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 1.01% to 24,994.46.

Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific reached a new 52-week low at the close, falling 3.77%, having earlier dropping to their lowest levels in nine years.

That came after it confirmed the data of more than nine million customers, including passport and Hong Kong identity card details, had been breached.

Both of the blue-chip technology stocks in Seoul - Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix - were down, with Samsung off 3.64% and SK Hynix 3% lower.

The chipmaker had beat expectations in its third-quarter operating profit report thanks to a seasonal uptick in mobile device demand, but that wasn’t enough to shake trader concern around semiconductor stocks globally.

Oil prices were lower, with Brent crude last down 0.05% at $76.13 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate falling 0.17% to $66.71.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slid 2.83% to finish the day at 5,664.10, with the hefty financials subindex 3.02% lower, and the energy sector down 2.65%.

Of the major banks, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group was down 2.55%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia off 2.38%, National Australia Bank 2.5% lower, and Westpac Banking Corporation sliding 2.49%.

The country's biggest wealth management firm, AMP, plummeted 24.47% after it said it was preparing to sell its life insurance division at a serious discount.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 closed down 0.9% at 8,568.23, with delivery network Freightways off 2.1% after it reported an 8.3% improvement in first quarter revenue.

The down under dollars were mixed, with the Aussie last 0.23% stronger against the greenback, and the Kiwi weakening 0.04% to NZD 1.5333.