Japan's Nikkei average pared losses after falling more than 4 per cent to a two-month low today, with short-covering emerging on a sense the market had been oversold after US stocks plunged.
Exporters such as Canon fell as the euro came under pressure, though minimal losses in Shanghai shares and positive moves in US stock futures helped stem further losses, market players said.
US stock exchange officials were investigating whether erroneous trades caused a sudden slump in share prices that wiped nearly $1 trillion off US equity values at the peak of the sell-off before prices clawed back some of their losses.
The US rout briefly erased more than $1 trillion in US market value as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell almost 1,000 points, a 9.2 per cent plunge that was the biggest intraday percentage loss since 1987 and largest point drop ever, before paring declines.
US stock futures had risen 0.6 per cent by mid-afternoon and the Nikkei had shed 2.5 per cent, down 271.78 points, to 10,419.87.
Earlier, the Nikkei had fallen as low as 10,257.32, more than 4 per cent and its lowest since early March. The broader Topix fell 2.2 per cent to 935.84
The benchmark Nikkei at one point broke below its 200-day moving average at around 10,300, but market players said this level could well become support.
Investors will now be watching US jobs data as well as a euro zone summit on the Greek crisis later in the day.
The euro was around 117.68 yen in Asian trade, up 2.6 per cent, after shedding around 10 yen at one point the previous day.
Reuters