Japanese markets tumble further, Nikkei down 3.93%

Japanese markets tumbled in a broad sell-off as Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs on dozens of countries took effect. The Nikkei average fell 3.93 percent to close at 31,714.03, while the broader Topix index settled 3.40 percent lower at 2,349.33.

Tech stocks suffered heavy losses, with SoftBank Group, Advantest and Tokyo Electron plummeting 6-8 percent.

Japan's machine tool orders increased for the sixth straight month in March amid higher foreign demand, preliminary data from the Japan Machine Tool Builders Association, or JMTBA, showed on Wednesday.

Machine tool orders climbed 11.4 percent year-on-year in March, following a 3.5 percent rise in the previous month.

Japan's consumer sentiment decreased further in March to the lowest level in two years, survey data from the Cabinet Office showed on Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted consumer confidence index weakened to 34.1 in March from 34.8 in February.

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