Japan's Nikkei closed at the close, recording its worst daily performance in three weeks on Thursday, with chip-related stocks leading a broad selling wave amid rising long-term yields and US technology stocks falling overnight.
The Nikkei fell 2.14 percent to close at 30,601.78 points, near the lowest level recorded during the day. This was the index's worst daily performance since October 4, halting a rise that continued for two consecutive days.
The broader Topix index fell 1.34 percent.
The decline in Japanese stocks came after a sharp decline on Wall Street on Wednesday.
The yield on ten-year Japanese government bonds reached the highest level in ten years.
Advantest shares, a manufacturer of chip testing equipment, fell 6.87 percent, and Tokyo Electron shares fell 5.03 percent.
The electrical machinery companies index was the worst performing among the Tokyo Stock Exchange sub-indices, declining 2.55 percent.
The real estate sector index, which is highly sensitive to interest rates, also fell by 2.22 percent.
