Asia tumbles amid Italy downgrade

Asian indices responded to the move by Standard & Poor's to downgrade Italy by falling overnight.

Markets responded to mounting concerns over the condition of Italy, Greece, and the rest of Europe, with many investors fearing a break-up of the European single currency is imminent.

As news of the downgrade of Italy's sovereign debt rating emerged, Asian markets fell and closed lower.

The Nikkei 225 lost 1.61%, falling to 8,721.24. Meanwhile the Hang Seng index lost 0.39%, to reach 18,844.6.

Meanwhile the euro also dropped 0.5% against the dollar, to reach $1.3615.

In the US markets also closed lower, with the Dow Jones index 0.94% down at 11,401, and the S&P 500 ending down 1% at 1,204.09.