TOKYO: Asian equities tracked Wall Street's slide on Wednesday as the latest developments in the US-China trade conflict fanned fresh fears about global growth, driving support for safe-haven government bonds.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.3 per cent, stooping to its lowest level since late March.
Australian stocks declined 0.35 per cent,
South Korea's KOSPI fell 1 per cent and Japan's Nikkei was down 1.5 per cent.
Wall Street stocks slid on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 losing 1.65 per cent and the Dow shedding 1.8 per cent on the US-China trade concerns.
Global stocks had a rocky start to the week after Washington on Monday accused Beijing of backtracking from commitments made during trade negotiations. That followed President Donald Trump's unexpected statement on Sunday that he would raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 per cent from 10 per cent.
Beijing said on Tuesday that Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will visit the United States on Thursday and Friday for trade talks. Additional tariffs are set to take effect on Friday if a trade agreement is not reached by then.
"From an equity market perspective, the immediate focus is on the two-day talks scheduled to take place between the US and Chinese officials," said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo
Mitsui DS Asset Management.
"However, it is difficult to imagine the two parties resolving their differences in just two days of talks. The markets may have to begin pricing in the trade conflict as a long-term factor once again."
Government bond prices surged and their yields slid sharply as investor panic took a toll on growth asset markets.
Benchmark 10-year yields on US Treasuries and German bunds sank to one-month lows.
In currency markets, the dollar struggled at 110.25 yen after slipping to a six-week low of 110.17 overnight.
The Japanese yen, a perceived safe-haven, often gains against its peers in times of market turmoil and political strife.
The euro was little changed at $1.1191 after ending the previous day nearly flat.
The Australian dollar was unchanged at $0.7010.
The Aussie gained 0.35 per cent the previous day after the Reserve Bank of Australia defied expectations for an interest rate cut, keeping rates unchanged at 1.5 per cent.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures nudged up 0.28 per cent to $61.57 per barrel, trimming some of its losses after sinking 1.36 per cent on Tuesday.
Crude oil prices had dropped as renewed US-China trade worries stoked concerns of slower global growth crimping demand for commodities. Expectations that US crude stockpiles could hit fresh 19-month highs also weighed on oil.