Asian equity markets ended mostly in red on Wednesday as a nuclear test by North Korea heightened concerns for investors already fretting over the slowdown in China. North Korea confirmed today that it carried out a nuclear test, claiming it was a hydrogen bomb detonation. The announcement followed a 5.1-magnitude earthquake that was detected at North Korea's nuclear test site. Japanese shares fell for a third day after oil resumed declines and the yen vaulted to a near three-month high against the dollar in the wake of weak economic data from China and rising tensions in the Middle East. However, China stocks ended higher, led by a surge in resources shares, on hopes that regulators will extend a ban on share sales by major stakeholders as Beijing scrambled to avert a potential repeat of last summer's market crash.
| Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,361.84 | 74.13 | 2.25 |
| Hang Seng | 20,980.81 | -207.91 | -0.98 |
| Jakarta Composite | 4,608.98 | 51.16 | 1.12 |
| KLSE Composite | 1,667.97 | 2.27 | 0.14 |
| Nikkei 225 | 18,191.32 | -182.68 | -0.99 |
| Straits Times | 2,804.27 | -29.96 | -1.06 |
| KOSPI Composite | 1,925.43 | -5.10 | -0.26 |
| Taiwan Weighted | 7,990.39 | -84.72 | -1.05 |