In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index opened down 236 points, or 0.95 percent, at 24,718.
The China enterprises index lost 77 points, or 0.94 percent, to 8,197 while the tech index fell 58 points, or 1.36 percent, to 4,271.
Across the border, the Shanghai Composite Index opened down 23 points, or 0.6 percent, at 3,910.
The Shenzhen Component Index was 134 points, or 0.98 percent, lower at 13,483 while the ChiNext Index slipped 28 points, or 0.85 percent, to 3,310.
In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei plunged 994 points, or 1.52 percent, to 64,276 at the opening and the losses doubled to put the 225 benchmark 1,915 points in the red at one stage before noon.
In Seoul, the Kospi lost 231 points, or 3.29 percent, to open at 6,802.
The losses came as Brent crude climbed to a four-month high of US$109.97 a barrel after a 6 percent overnight jump, capping a weekly gain of nearly 13 percent.
Oil flows remained restricted through the Strait of Hormuz as the United States and Iran traded attacks, while Iran-aligned Houthis seized control of Yemen’s port of Mocha, threatening Saudi oil exports in the Red Sea.
“Maritime traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb is gravely imperiled by the Houthi advances,” said Helima Croft, head of global commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, tipping Brent could hit US$121.99 a barrel this year due to the resumption of a full-blown Saudi-Houthi war. (Reuters & Xinhua)
