Japan's Nikkei share average dipped on Tuesday on ongoing worries about the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis and after U.S. shares slipped to a one-month low overnight. The benchmark Nikkei fell 0.3 percent to 9,436.48 and the broader Topix index shed 0.3 percent to 815.29 .
Meanwhile, U.S. stocks closed at their lowest levels in a month on Monday in a sign of increasing doubt that equity markets can weather recent weakness in global manufacturing and demand.
Industrial, energy and technology stocks, closely related to growth, were among the day's top decliners. Poor manufacturing figures from Germany and China were a surprise and gave investors reason to shed positions in those industries.
Mining machinery maker Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N), a Dow component, lost 2.3 percent to $101.89, while the S&P industrial sector index .GSPI fell 1.4 percent and the S&P info-technology sector index .GSPT declined 1.5 percent.
Eurozone Drama
The drama surrounding the euro zone's debt crisis added to investor anxiety. It furthered a recent trend of selling commodities, the euro, and stocks in tandem.
The main driver of the market's decline is "a combination of global economic cooling and an increase in risk from Europe," according to Paul Zemsky, head of asset allocation at ING in New York.
"Throw in the Greek downgrade on Friday, warnings about other countries being downgraded ... it's just a negative cocktail right now."
Negative ratings actions on Greece and Italy and regional election results in Spain raised concerns about the deepening of the euro zone's debt problems. Investors worry that voter rebellions against austerity plans could put some government debt at risk of default.
The euro hit a two-month low against the U.S. currency.
