Shares in Asia-Pacific mostly tumbled in Wednesday trade as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict continued to lead to a surge in oil prices.
The Nikkei 225 Index collapsed 451.69 points, or 1.7%, to 26,393.03.
The Japanese yen traded at 115.09 per U.S. dollar, still stronger than levels around 115.6 seen against the greenback earlier this week.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 417.79 points, or 1.8%, to 22,343.92.
Australian stocks rose on the back of positive economic data. Economic activity in Australia rose 3.4% in the fourth quarter from the third, according to data released Wednesday by the country’s Bureau of Statistics. That was above expectations in a Reuters poll for a 3% gain.
The Australian dollar was at $0.7247, extending gains after climbing from below $0.72 earlier in the week.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 fell 41.09 points, or 0.9%, to 4,578.60.
In Korea, the Kospi index nosed up 4.34 points, or 0.2%, to 2,703.52.
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index faltered 30.65 points, or 0.2%, to 17,867.60.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 index lost 109.18 points, or 0.9%, to 12,088.75.
In Australia, the ASX 200 gained 20.11 points, or 0.3%, to 7,116.66.