DHAKA: Worries over falling oil prices were weighing on investor sentiment in Asia for a second day on Wednesday.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 tumbled more than 3.5% to 17,106.63 following falls on Wall Street.

In Hong Kong, shares were down by a similar amount in early trade, with the Hang Seng falling 3% to 18,844.90 points.

The mainland’s Shanghai Composite was also in negative territory, down 1.29% at 2,714.63 points.

West Texas Intermediate - the US benchmark - lost 5.5% overnight to fall below the $30 mark, while Brent crude closed down 4.5% to about $32.

Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was weighed down by energy stocks together with the country’s big lenders.

The Sydney index was down 1.8% at 4,953.60, with BHP shares down 4.5%, Rio Tinto shares down 1.2%, and Santos shares down to 6.7%.

The country’s big four banks were down too, with the National Australia Bank shedding the most in morning trade, down more than 5.1%.

The bank announced its final offer price for the float of its UK business - the Clydesdale Bank - at the lower end of the initial price range.

BDST: 1250 HRS, FEB 03, 2016
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