Asian Shares Sharply Lower

Asian shares tumbled Wednesday after a wobbly day ended with mixed results on Wall Street as markets churn over the prospect of a possible recession, the Associated Press reported.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index sank 2.1% to 26,020.56 while the Kospi in Seoul lost 2.8% to 2,161.95. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 gave up 0.8% to 6,442.40.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 2.8% to 17,363.08 and the Shanghai Composite index declined 1.3% to 3,053.79. Taiwan’s benchmark dropped 2.6%.

The week started off with a broad sell-off that sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average into a bear market, joining other major U.S. indexes.

In another trading Wednesday, U.S. benchmark crude lost $1.28 to $77.23 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed $1.27 to $83.60 per barrel in London.

The dollar fell to 144.73 Japanese yen from 144.81 yen. The euro was at 95.55 cents, down from 95.92 cents.