Japan’s Nikkei share average extended early losses and fell as much as 1.7 per cent on Wednesday afternoon after North Korea said it had conducted a nuclear test, stoking geopolitical concerns in the region.
“North Korea woes added to investor fears and hit further the Japanese market, which was already battered by geopolitical worries about the Middle East and volatility in Chinese shares,’’ said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
The Nikkei share average recovered but was down 1.4 percent at 18,123.30 points by mid-afternoon.
The broader Topix was down 1.4 per cent at 1,483.47 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 slipped 1.4 per cent to 13,362.05.