The tumble began overnight as investors flocked to safe-haven assets such as U.S. Treasurys, the yen and the greenback after three U.K. real estate funds halted selling and the Bank of England relaxed regulations to encourage banks to lend out more money.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 1.5 percent.
"Financial markets appear to have taken a more realistic view around the complexity and uncertainty characterizing the global political background and its impact on already lackluster economic growth," wrote analysts at ANZ in a note.
"This suggests the tug-a-war between more central bank support and economic fundamentals is going to increase, driving market volatility."
Chinese stocks struggled on Wednesday as the yuan fell to fresh 5-1/2 year lows and investors fled riskier assets on worries over the fallout from Britain's shock decision to leave the European Union.
The blue-chip CSI300 index rose for eighth straight day, gaining 0.3 percent to 3,216.80. The Shanghai Composite Index climbed for a fourth straight day, rising 0.4 percent to 3,017.29 points.
Hong Kong stocks fell on Wednesday as the Chinese yuan hit a fresh 5-1/2 year low against the dollar while worries about global growth and the long-run implications of Brexit hammered risky assets of all types.
The Hang Seng index dropped 1.2 percent to 20,495.29. The China Enterprises Index slid 1.6 percent to 8,503.14.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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