Japan’s Nikkei share average fell 0.49% to 22,652.42 while the broader Topix shed 0.27% to 1,744.85.

The losses were driven by selling in the futures after the yuan weakened below 6.8 per dollar in the onshore trade for the first time in a year.

“Further falls in the yuan will heighten worries about capital flights like the one we saw in 2015-2016. So there is knee-jerk selling,” said Hideyuki Ishiguro, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.

Steel makers, non-ferrous metal companies and shippers – the regular victims of trade war worries – led the losses with falls of 1.4%, 1.6% and 1.2% respectively.

Kobe Steel dropped 2.0% after the company was indicted by prosecutors over a data tampering scandal that shook the company last year.

Insurers fell 1.3% as their earnings are seen squeezed by continuous flattening in the yield curve.

Semi-conductor related shares came under pressure after Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, trimmed its annual revenue and capital spending estimates on bleak demand from smartphone and cryptocurrency mining industries.

Tokyo Electron fell 2.6% and Sumco shed 2.8%.

Still, there are pockets of strength among technology shares with Murata Manufacturing rising 1.3% and Keyence up 1.1%.

Advertising firm Dentsu sank 7.5% in heavy trade, with market players citing an unexpectedly weak sales from its French rival Publicis.