Shares in the Asia Pacific region fell sharply on Tuesday, following heavy losses in US technology shares.
Sentiment was also hurt by fears of another wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in the region.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 909.75 points, or 3.08 per cent, to close at 28,608.59, while the broader Topix index was down 46.35 points, or 2.5 per cent, to 1,905.92 on the day.
Some western Japanese prefectures decided not to allow the Olympic torch relay on public roads due to surging coronavirus infections.
South Korea's Kospi index dropped 39.87 points, or 1.23 per cent, to end at 3,209.43.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled 550.24 points, or 1.92 per cent, to 28,045.42, while the Shanghai Composite Index was up 11.45 points, or 0.33 per cent, at 3,439.44.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell 1.06 per cent on the day and the broader All Ordinaries index closed down 1.19 per cent.
In the US on Monday, the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index plummeted 2.55 per cent and the S&P 500 index shed 1.04 per cent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1 per cent.
