Asian stock markets closed with significant losses as major indices in the region declined. The Nikkei 225 index in Japan fell by 1.66% to close at 38,721.66 points. Among heavyweight stocks, Daiichi Sankyo dropped 4.66%, and Nintendo saw a 3.29% decrease. Notably, Seven & I Holdings, the parent company of 7-11, bucked the trend with a gain of over 11%.
In South Korea, the KOSPI index closed down 2.64% at 2,417.08 points. Key stocks in the index, including Korea Zinc and LG Chem, experienced significant declines of 14.1% and 5.4%, respectively, while POSCO fell by 5.25%. Samsung Electronics (SSNLF, Financial) saw a 4.53% fall, reaching its lowest level since June 2020. Korea Zinc suffered a notable drop of over 14%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index decreased by 0.75% to close at 8,193.40 points, and New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 index fell by 0.59% to end at 12,674.49 points.
