TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei share average plunged more than 3% to a fresh 15-month low on Monday, as the war in Ukraine showed no signs of abating, pushing up oil and other commodity prices and stoking fears of a stagflationary shock to the global economy.
The Nikkei had fallen 3.15% to 25,166.23 by the midday break. Earlier in the session, it hit its lowest since November 2020 at 25,006.26, threatening the psychological boundary of 25,0000.
Of the benchmark's 225 component shares, 192 declined. Energy was the only sub-sector to rise, as worries that Russian oil supplies would soon be choked off sent crude prices sharply higher.
Resources-poor Japan is highly dependent on imports for its energy needs.
Consumer-oriented stocks slumped the most, followed by tech.
The broader Topix sank 2.88%.
"The market is being driven by what looks like a spreading panic," said a trader at a domestic securities firm. "We won't know if it'll prove temporary or persist until we see how the US stock market reacts."
US S&P 500 emini futures pointed to a 1.59% drop at the reopen, after the Wall Street benchmark lost 0.79% on Friday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to press ahead with the invasion unless Kyiv surrenders, despite severe Western sanctions and widespread international condemnation. Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation."
Japan's chipmaking giants slumped, with Tokyo Electron's 4.29% decline making it the Nikkei's biggest drag by index points.
Advantest tumbled 5.7% and Renesas dropped 6.65%.
Startup investor SoftBank Group slid 5.36% to be the second-biggest drag. Uniqlo clothing chain operator Fast Retailing slipped 1.66%.
Auto stocks took a beating, led by truck maker Hino , which sank the daily limit of 16.76% after admitting to tampering with emissions data. Parent Toyota Motor sank 5.24%.
Fellow truck maker Isuzu lost 7.62%.
Suzuki plunged 9.48%, Nissan retreated 7.24% and Mazda declined 7.64%.
Honda fell a milder 3.79%, supported by its announcement of a joint venture with Sony to make electric vehicles.
Sony slipped 1.36%.