Headline indices of the Japan share market closed down on Tuesday, 23 October 2018, as risk aversion selloff triggered amid lingering worries over geopolitical risks. All TSE 33 issues declined, with shares in Metal Products, Construction, Glass & Ceramics Products, Pulp & Paper, Chemicals, Electric Power & Gas, and Machinery issues being notable losers. At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei index dropped 604.04 points, or 2.67%, at 22,010.78. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange dropped 44.59 points, or 2.63%, to 1,650.72.

Investors risk sentiments declined amid concerns over Italy's budget, deadlock on Brexit negotiations as well as tensions between the West and Saudi Arabia over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.

Shares of Lixil Group Corp tumbled almost 16% after the manufacturer and distributor of building materials and plumbing equipment slashed its net profit forecast for the year through March 2019 to 1.5 billion yen from 50 billion yen, citing drop in demand for new housing in the domestic market.

Shares of Hitachi Chemical Co dropped 8.3 percent after the company reported that its April-September net profit declined by 2.1 percent to 16.41 billion yen.

CURRENCY NEWS: Japanese yen appreciated against greenback on Tuesday. The dollar fetched 112.57 yen in Asian trade, against 112.81 yen in New York.