Nikkei Falls Below 9,000

In today's market report... Asian shares tracked lower Tuesday, as worries over weak economic growth kept investors away from riskier assets.

Tokyo's Nikkei led the losers, briefly breaking below the 9,000 level as the yen hit a nine year high against the euro, and concerns mounted over Japan's fragile recovery.

Falls were led by growth-oriented stocks like banks and commodity trading houses, while exporters like Nissan fell on the strong local currency. The Nikkei closed 1.3 percent lower.

Stocks in Taiwan and South Korea also slipped, with shares of consumer electronics firms leading declines.

Hong Kong stocks were flat, under pressure from Chalco shares. The world's top aluminum producer posted a quarterly loss, and said prices would stay volatile for the rest of the year.

The Shanghai market bucked the trend, with banking and mining stocks higher. The Shanghai Composite was nearly one percent up at midday.

In Australia, Sphere Minerals jumped by over 60 percent, following a takeover bid from Swiss miner Xstrata, but the political limbo and the global economic uncertainty saw Sydney's All Ordinaries fall by over one percent.