The Nikkei slides in the final hour as Abe plans to resign
Japanese stocks were faring better on the day, rising alongside its peers in the region, before reports came in that Abe is to resign as prime minister. That sent Japanese markets into a risk-off spin, though the reaction outside of Japan is rather muted.
The Nikkei tumbled by as much as 2.5% at one stage but has trimmed losses since.
Elsewhere, the Hang Seng is up 1.4% and the Shanghai Composite is up 1.1%. Meanwhile, US futures are up by 0.4% as we look towards European morning trade.
In the currencies space, the dollar is on the back foot across the board as it extends losses post-Powell. The yen was also weaker initially as yields were rising but the Abe news helped the currency to turn losses into gains against the dollar.