Asian markets trading in red as Russia-Ukraine tensions mount

Asian markets were trading in the red on Thursday as global equities dipped amid rising Russia-Ukraine tensions. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 shed 192 points to 26,255. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 sank 181 points to 7,025.

South Korea's Kospi lost 37 points to 2,681. Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 390 points to 23,270, while the Shanghai Composite was flat at 3,480.

Overnight US markets closed in the red as Ukraine declared a state of emergency amid intensifying fears of a full-scale Russian invasion.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 464.85 points, or 1.38%, to 33,131.76, barely above the 33,119.685 level that would have confirmed a correction.

The S&P 500 lost 79.26 points, or 1.84%, to end at 4,225.5 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 344.03 points, or 2.57%, to 13,037.49.

Ukraine declared a state of emergency and told its citizens to flee Russia, while Moscow began evacuating its Kyiv embassy.

The Russian-backed separatist leader of a Ukrainian breakaway region said Ukrainian government forces should withdraw from territory that his self-proclaimed state has claimed and take their weapons with them.

In Europe, France's CAC was unchanged at 26,865.19, while Germany's DAX fell 61 points to 14,631 yesterday. Britain's FTSE 100 closed flat at 7,498.

 (With Reuters inputs)