In Tokyo, Japanese shares dived by almost 5 per cent in early Wednesday afternoon trades on concerns about a probe into internet trailblazer Livedoor and the exchange’s ability to cope with heavy volumes.
The benchmark Nikkei-225 index fell by more than 740 points, or about 4.7 per cent, to around 15,060 points before stabilising somewhat at 15,292.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange then closed early for the first time ever to prevent a system crash due to heavy trading volumes.
