Asian stocks fall, Japanese yen higher on safe haven appeal

All the Asian markets trading in red as lack of confidence prevails in global markets. Market sentiment was damaged after oil prices fell more than 3% overnight.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 3.35% to 17,155.53 points in early trade, while Tokyo's broader Topix gauge plunged 3.43% to 1,402.24 points.

The USD/JPY pair was seen trading around 119.50 on Wednesday morning in Tokyo.

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng index flopped 3.35% to 18,794.90 points shortly after the opening bell, and mainland China's benchmark Shanghai Composite fell 1.01% to 2,721.81 points at the same time.

Korea's benchmark Kospi index was down 1.08% at 1,886.00 points this morning in Seoul.

Australian Benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index slides 1.93% lower to 4,897.10 points in Sydney.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.58% to 6,143.95 points in Wellington.