LONDON (Dispatches) - Shares in the U.S. and Asia have fallen on fears about the impact of lockdowns in China on global economic growth.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite index closed at its lowest level since late 2020.
Tesla was a big faller, with more than $125bn wiped off its market value as boss Elon Musk moves ahead with his takeover of Twitter.
Concerns about earnings reports from some of the world’s biggest technology firms also weighed on markets.
Investors were already worried about the prospects for aggressive interest rate hikes in the U.S. and around the world to combat rising global inflation and the war in Ukraine.
Authorities in Beijing are trying to stamp out a COVID-19 outbreak and avoid a repeat of the city-wide restrictions that have kept Shanghai in lockdown for a month.
That has raised concerns about the prospects for growth in the world’s second largest economy and the potential knock-on effect globally.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed 1.2% lower, while South Korea’s Kospi index fell by 1.1%.
That followed stock market falls in New York, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing 2.4% lower and the Nasdaq losing almost 4% on Tuesday.
Alvin Tan, head of Asia FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets, told the BBC that there were concerns over a possible lockdown of Beijing.