Asia report: Most markets lower as Nissan chairman arrested

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was off 1.09% at 21,583.12, as the yen strengthened 0.17% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 112.36.

The broader Topix index fell 0.73% to 1,625.67.

Shares of carmaker Nissan were down 5.45%, after chairman Carlos Ghosn was arrested late on Monday amid reports of financial misreporting.

In a statement, Nissan said both Ghosn and Greg Kelly, a board director, had underreported compensation figures in filings with the Tokyo Stock Exchange “over many years”.

“Numerous other significant acts of misconduct have been uncovered,” Nissan said.

Chief executive Hiroto Saikawa confirmed the arrest of both Ghosn and Kelly while fronting press on Monday evening, adding that he would suggest removing them from their positions at a board meeting on Thursday.

Mitsubishi Motors also fell on the news, by 6.85%, given Ghosn is also chairman and chief executive officer of the alliance between Nissan, France’s Renault, and Mitsubishi.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite slid 2.13% to 2,645.85, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite was down 2.72% at 1,378.92.

South Korea’s Kospi was off 0.86% at 2,082.58, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was 2.02% lower at 25,840.34.

Both of the blue-chip technology stocks were down on news out of China as well as wider sector sentiment, with Samsung Electronics falling 1.95% and SK Hynix off 3.3%.

Technology shares were under pressure globally at the start of the Asian day, after a serious slide in the sector on Wall Street overnight, with the Nasdaq Composite down 3% on Monday.

The ‘FAANG’ stocks - Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Alphabet (Google) - were all now in bear market territory, according to reports.

Sentiment in the sector took a hit after the Financial Times reported that authorities in China had discovered evidence of “massive” antitrust violations by Micron Technology, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

According to the report, Beijing was preparing to widen its investigation into the three memory chip firms.

Oil prices were lower, with Brent crude last down 1.88% at $65.56 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate off 1.67% at $56.26.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.38% to 5,671.80, with almost all subindices in sliding below the waterline.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was 0.8% lower at 8,720.30, led down by construction conglomerate Fletcher Building, which plunged 11% to a nine-year low.

The company, which has been under pressure over a number of large infrastructure and construction projects recently, announced during the session that it was expecting first-half operating earnings to be down 10% year-on-year.

Both of the down under dollars were weaker on the greenback, with the Aussie last off 0.3% at AUD 1.3764, and the Kiwi retreating just 0.01% to NZD 1.4624.