TOKYO/HONG KONG -- Shares in Asian tech companies fell sharply on Wednesday led by SoftBank Group after U.S. stocks closed lower for a third straight session, with Tesla plunging 21% to record its worst single-day loss ever.
Japan's equity benchmark, the Nikkei Stock Average, opened lower and fell over 300 points, or 1.6%, at one point. SoftBank Group suffered the biggest drop among the 225 companies that comprise the index at one point, tumbling 6.5% in early trade as investors worried that a U.S. tech stock crash could lead to huge losses for the conglomerate's $100 billion Vision Fund. SoftBank clawed back some of its lost ground to close 2.8% lower, while the Nikkei index rebounded in the afternoon to close down 1% at 23,032.
